Westmont Magazine The Art of Preserving the Venetian Lagoon

During the pandemic, ALLISON ZURFLUH ’93 lost her company organizing exceptional experiences for private and corporate events, but she gained a new purpose: protecting the Venetian Lagoon. “I seized the opportunity to reset my life and embark on a new journey that combines two of my passions: art and conservation,” she says.

She paints the northern lagoon in oils and watercolors, using these works to promote both cultural and environmental conservation. The Venissa Wine Resort in Venice hosted her first solo art exhibit, which began in March 2022 and ended in August, in parallel with the Art Biennale.

“I hope to attract attention to protecting the lagoon, the heartland of Venice and its lifeline,” she says. “This natural park and treasure trove of Venetian history — an unprotected paradise — still supports traditional (not industrial) fishing techniques that will disappear with the aging of the present generation.”

In January, CBS Mornings filmed her identifying threats to the northern Venetian Lagoon. She published a personal perspective of her concern in the academic journal Luxury: History, Culture, Consumption: “The Last Sacrifice: The Potential of a Revived Venetian World.” The Sugar Street Venetian Supper Club posted an interview with her: “Wild at Heart.” The Rediscover Italy Podcast featured “Inspired by Venetian Life with Artist Allison Zurfluh.

Allison creates experiences for people interested in supporting and promoting the lagoon’s preservation and also for corporate groups committed to environmentalism. Taking them by boat to the northern Venetian Lagoon, she explains the importance of water in the region, a site of cultural, religious and political power. “This authentic place needs respect and love,” she says.

The lagoon’s fishing community faces extinction, and Allison has connected with many fishermen. She considers them natural custodians who love the lagoon and its wildlife and engage in sustainable practices, such as sorting fish by hand. For Allison, preservation extends beyond the environment to include the welfare of the people who live there.

“Venice has a real problem of mass tourism underpinned by inefficient and uninterested local government that wants to make as much money as possible off cruise ships and tourists,” she says. “Travelers who come and stay and spend time there understand both the value and the fragility of the city and the lagoon. But excessively high maritime traffic, from both the shipping industry and leisure boats, pollutes the lagoon and erodes the ancient foundations in Venice, sometimes causing them to crack right down the middle.”

Allison seeks to redefine appropriate tourism and encourage businesses unrelated to tourism. She also wants to support residents in traditional trades and curtail leisure boats and their speed limits.

A Swiss resident, she travels back and forth from her home north of Bern to Burano, an island in the northern lagoon. She picked up a paint brush after suffering from a serious infection and tendon surgery. “In my misery, I started painting again, and it helped me recover and be happy,” she says. “My family encouraged me to keep painting.” She and her husband have four grown children.

When Allison posted her work on Instagram, an art collector in Zurich started buying it. A gallery in Zurich will host a solo exhibition of her work in 2023. See her paintings at allisonzurfluhartist.ch.

Allison kept finding crosses on treks through mud flats and then a large, red one hanging in a tree. “I knew then that God loves me deeply,” she said. “I had a moment where I didn’t understand the church anymore and felt disconnected, although I have always loved God. I’m reclaiming my life and my faith by spending time in the lagoon and painting.”