Evan

Ciao a tutti! My name is Evan Malouf and I’m one of the founders of Carnival of Masks. I visited Italy for the first time when I was a kid. It was great, of course. But going with my wife as an adult for Carnevale was an out of this world experience.

Photos by Charise Sowells

We’d been to Venice before together during the summer when the Venice Bienniale was happening which was such a cool contrast between old and new. A decade later, we were finally able to return for Carnevale where people are dressed up everywhere you go: on gondolas, at bars and restaurants, in the piazzas, on the docks. It’s incredible, really. We couldn’t help but buy ourselves a few masks of our own and get swept up in the festivities.

Since then, we’ve been working on Carnival of Masks. I’m so glad you’re here. Hopefully, Charise and I will be back in 2026 to meet more of the Carnevale community in person!