The Hope Forum 2026 | Archipelagos of Hope
May 9, 2026
La Biennale di Venezia
Venice
Executive Director Laura Bardier participated in The Hope Forum 2026, presented by ART 2030 during the preview days of the 61st Venice Biennale in Venice, Italy. Convening leaders across art, science, philanthropy, and policy, the forum explored the role of cultural institutions and artists in advancing collective action, sustainability, and global social impact.
Bardier joined a panel discussion focused on how artists and cultural leaders are shaping new infrastructures for collaboration, access, and civic engagement. Moderated by ArtReview Editor-in-Chief Mark Rappolt, the conversation featured artist Yinka Shonibare, philanthropist and Fundación Ama Amoedo founder Amalia Amoedo, and Dr. Bettina Kames of LAS Art Foundation.
Her participation highlighted the James Howell Foundation’s ongoing commitment to supporting dialogue around the social role of art and fostering international cultural exchange.
The Hope Forum is ART 2030’s bi-annual, high-impact convening held alongside the Venice Biennale, bringing together leaders from art, science, business, philanthropy, and policy to advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The 2026 edition, Archipelagos of Hope, amplifies global conversations on sustainability by mobilizing the international art sector. Taking place in Venice this May, it coincides with the opening of In Minor Keys, the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia.
Laura Bardier is a New York-based curator, writer, and executive. She currently serves as the Executive Director of the James Howell Foundation and is the Founding Director of the ESTE ARTE Cultural Summit & Art Fair. Since 2018, Bardier has led the James Howell Foundation, overseeing its incorporation and implementing a strategic plan that has successfully expanded access, awareness, and engagement with James Howell’s artistic practice. In February 2014, Bardier established ESTE ARTE, a platform that has significantly reshaped the art landscape of South America. She has written extensively about contemporary art in various publications and has curated several exhibitions. Bardier is actively involved in several professional organizations, serving as the Chair of Governance at ArtTable and as a board member for ICI - Independent Curators International and Creative Capital. She holds an MA in Curatorial Studies from Donau Universität in Austria and an undergraduate degree from Università degli Studi di Firenze in Italy.
Mark Rappolt is the Editor-in-Chief of ArtReview. He founded its sister publication, ArtReview Asia, in 2013. His writing has appeared in a number of publications, ranging from The Times and Die Zeit to i-D and Citizen K, and includes exhibition catalogues on artists such as Lee Bae, Matthew Krishanu, Ha Chong-Hyun, Bharti Kher, Wang Guangle, Yuko Mohri and Liu Xiaodong. Books include monographs on architects Greg Lynn and Frank Gehry. Between 2016 and 2018, with Aimee Lin, he curated Xiàn Chang, a special section of the West Bund Art & Design fair in Shanghai.
Yinka Shonibare is based in London, UK, studied Fine Art at Byam Shaw School of Art, London (1989) and received his MFA from Goldsmiths, University of London (1991). His interdisciplinary practice uses citations of Western art history and literature to question the validity of contemporary cultural and national identities within the context of globalisation. Through examining race, class and the construction of cultural identity, his works comment on the tangled interrelationship between Africa and Europe, and their respective economic and political histories.
Amalia Amoedo is an Argentine philanthropist, art collector, and patron dedicated to supporting contemporary Latin American art and expanding its global visibility. Founder of Fundación Ama Amoedo, she has championed artists through exhibitions, residencies, and institutional partnerships across the Americas and Europe. Building on the legacy of her grandmother, renowned collector Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat, Amoedo serves on the board of the Colección de Arte Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat in Buenos Aires and is widely recognized for her advocacy of artists and cultural exchange.
Dr. Bettina Kames is the CEO and Co-Founder of LAS Art Foundation, Berlin. She leads LAS’s artistic direction and shapes its mission to be a foundation about the future and illuminate the intersections between art, science and technology. Under her leadership LAS has commissioned immersive new installations and performances by Refik Anadol, Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, Ian Cheng, Libby Heaney, Holly Herndon & Mat Dryhurst, Pierre Huyghe, Robert Irwin, Jakob Kudsk Steensen, Lawrence Lek, Christelle Oyiri, Laure Prouvost and Marianna Simnett amongst others, covering topics from artificial intelligence and quantum computing to ecology and biotechnology. She studied the History of Art at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, and completed her PhD at Freie Universität, Berlin.