Alexandre Sap’s Rupture Arts & Books store in Venice is part of a network that encourages the exchange of culture, conversation and community in a creative international cultural space
«Rupture is a gallery of books, not a bookstore. I want to surprise people. I want them to feel like they don’t know where they are».
Located in the Giudecca neighborhood, an island of Venice, Alexandre Sap – the founder of Rupture – opened up his latest Art & Books store in May 2023. With a view on the canal that runs through the ‘city of water’, the Venice branch is Sap’s fourth Rupture store.
Rupture – ‘a moment to reinvent oneself’ – the first ‘hybrid space’ curated by Alexandre Sap, between rare books, art, and music
When Alexandre Sap experienced his first rupture. What he identifies as a moment where he can reinvent himself. He combined his knowledge from his previous experience in the music industry and his background in advertisement. However, he wanted to create a space where his artists could hang out, listen to music, and look at records. From this, he founded Rupture Record, a café in Paris that aspired to create a ‘cultural haven’. A hybrid space where people could work and immerse themselves in art, music, and converse with others. Free from the pressures of the external world all while having a cup of coffee.
Rupture Arts & Books – international cultural spaces in Paris, Marseille and now Venice: «Rupture is a gallery of books, not a bookstore»
Soon after, Sap opened a second store right across the street, Rupture Arts & Books, a store where Sap personally curated the selections of books after his own taste rather than following commercial trends, giving the store an atmosphere reminiscent of an art gallery. «Rupture is a gallery of books, not a bookstore. I want to surprise people. I want them to feel like they don’t know where they are» described the founder.
Wanting to continue expanding his network of international cultural spaces and needing to feed his hunger for art and beauty, Sap traveled down to the South of France, to Marseille. There, he took over a bookstore from Katia Imbernon that specialized in Architecture. And that was la Cité Radieuse of Le Corbusier. This was the beginning of his partnership with the publishing house Imbernon. The start of Sap’s expansion of cultural networks.
Having curated a large selection of books on Architecture, Alexandre Sap wanted to create a link between Marseille and Venice. With the Biennial of Architecture in mind. And so, Mr Sap looked to Italy for his next step.
Rupture Art & Books in Venice, Giudecca – a record player, vintage furniture, and a curation of books on display
In May 2023, Alexandre Sap finally opened his first international Rupture store in Venice. Established in the Giudecca neighborhood, the Venice branch is steps away from the canal. Already familiar with the city, the Founder of Rupture didn’t want to establish his bookstore in the most popular places of Venice. Instead, he wanted Rupture to be in the Giudecca neighborhood. An island in Venice where Mr. Sap had, in his previous professional endeavors, found to be a refuge from the hustle and bustle of touristic areas.
To create a space where visitors could explore the curation of books, listen to records, and meditate over the art displayed around the store, Mr. Sap’s bookstore is unlike traditional mainstream bookstores. With half of the store set-up outside, the small boutique invites locals and tourists alike to take a moment and get lost in the world of books.
The Rupture Arts & books store in Venice
With two tables and chairs outside and the interior of the boutique set-up as a gallery with a record player, vintage furniture, and a curation of books on display, The Rupture Arts & books store in Venice intends to lure people in and take a break from the outside world. «I want people to come in, grab a book and read the whole thing if they want. The doors to the store are always open. I want the space to be somewhere peaceful people can come to. They can even change the music if they want to. There has to be an exchange of culture and conversation. I want people to find something that they wouldn’t find anywhere else».
The interior design of the store, with curtains in the backdrop in soft shades of pink and green and vintage furniture aspires to give the space the ambiance of a gallery. «For me, books are a luxury and I want this space to celebrate how beautiful they are».
Art, Design, Architecture and Research books, and the collaboration with independent publishers – the curatorship of Rupture
The Venice Rupture bookstore holds a selection of books that Alexandre Sap carefully curated himself. With a focus on Art, Design, Architecture and Research books, the store is home to many prints that are not available in mainstream stores or online thanks to partnerships with independent publishers and Mr Sap’s network of exchange of books.
Among these books is one that celebrates love. It’s Letters to Yves by Pierre Berger, that Mr Sap had special permission to translate into Arabic. He shared «you don’t need to read it. The book itself is just proof of love».
All of the books are sourced by Alexandre Sap. «The selection of books is first for me. It’s a very selfish process. I want books to feed me artistically and then I want to share them».
Sourcing books at Rupture – how an international network encourages the exchange of rare books
Alexandre Sap sources books from all over the world and collaborates with smaller publishers as well as bigger ones to create his range of curated books for his store.
What’s more, at Rupture, books are not thrown out, they are exchanged and shared. The Rupture of the Founder sources many of his books through his network. «We never destroy books here at Rupture. We exchange them. I love the idea that they go from place to place. All you need to do is ask, and most certainly someone, somewhere else will have what you are looking for» explained Mr. Sap. What’s more, books at Rupture are sourced from local publishers to ensure that rare books are on the shelves. «Local is global» shared Mr. Sap.
Because the books are initially purchased and read by the founder himself to satisfy his own artistic needs. Many distributors, publishing houses, bookstores and independents contact Mr. Sap directly when they have a book they recommend he reads, thus fulfilling Mr. Sap’s initial vision to create a network where culture can be exchanged and shared.
La Giudecca, the Venice neighborhood – a creative refuge
Giudecca island in Venice, is a quiet neighborhood. Situated next to a Trattoria and in front of the canal, Rupture is one of the new creative spaces locally. Mr. Sap explained that he and others are transforming the neighborhood into a creative refuge.
«Away from all the noise, that’s where you can connect with people, connect with nature. What I want is to create a home for local kids, students, and locals, away from social media, where they can enjoy beauty and not be isolated, because after all isn’t that the purpose of books and art? To find beauty and connect with something meaningful?».
Mr Sap further shared that boat storage units are being transformed into studios next to Rupture.
Thursdays at Rupture Art & Books – the Aperitivo event
The Rupture bookstore in Venice hosts an Aperitivo every Thursday. A late afternoon gathering where Italians gather over a drink and a small assortment of foods to socialize. Alexandre Sap describes it as a moment of communion where people can mingle, enjoy a glass of wine with friends and strangers and delve deep into the expansive world that only books can offer. And Alexandre Sap is the first to invite locals and neighbors or passersby to interact with him.
«I always have a little chair on my side. It’s always an empty chair because I want to have someone to sit with me and discuss. That is the essence of Rupture».
Rupture Art & Books expansion and future locations: Athens and Istanbul, moving East
Rupture Arts & Books is looking to expand its network of cultural spaces and is looking at Athens and Istanbul as additional locations for a store in the future. The motivation behind this decision is the company’s eastward expansion. They’ve opted to chart the course of the ancient Silk Road, establishing stores along its route. Each store will feature artworks from different parts of the world.
Rupture Arts & Books, Venice
Located in the Guidecca neighborhood in Venice, Alexander Sap’s fourth Rupture store opened in 2023 and sells Art, Design, Architecture, and Research books. Rupture is a network of cultural spaces and a publishing house, designed to encourage conversation and community in creative and cultural spaces.
