The theme "Real Unreal" invites exploration of the fragile boundary between the real and the unreal, between what we perceive as concrete and what belongs to dreams, imagination, social and cultural narratives, or artificial constructs. In an era where digital technologies, media narratives, and virtual reality redefine our relationship with ourselves and the world, this theme prompts a reflection on the nature of individual and collective perception, truth, and deception.

 

"Real Unreal" is an invitation to investigate how the unreal manifests within the real, shaping it, and how the real, in turn, can transform into something imaginary, symbolic, or illusory. Artists, curators, audiences, and all those involved in the Biennale will be called upon to engage with this tension—designing installations, creating artworks, or experiencing situations that challenge perception, subvert expectations, and expand the boundaries of what we consider "true."

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INSIGHT:
 

We live in an era where the concept of reality is constantly being redefined. The advancement of digital technologies, the increasing sophistication of artificial intelligence, and the pervasiveness of media narratives have blurred the boundaries between what is true and what is constructed. The theme "Real Unreal" emerges from the need to explore this ambiguity—to ask questions rather than provide answers, to challenge artists and audiences to question how much of what we perceive as real is actually so.

 

If our perception can be manipulated, then reality itself can be as well. The artist becomes the one who constructs worlds, who plays with the boundaries between what exists and what could exist. The theme of LUBICA26 is an invitation to recognize this power, to reflect on how the images and narratives surrounding us shape our way of seeing the world.

How much of what we consider true is actually a cultural construct?

How willing are we to accept illusion as part of our experience?

 

If the boundary between real and unreal is fluid, then art has the role of making it visible, of exposing its cracks, of playing with it to open new possibilities. Lucca Biennale Cartasia 2026 will be the space where this dialogue takes shape—a laboratory where artists and audiences will be invited to question perception, to be surprised, to lose and find themselves in a paper universe where everything is possible.