palermo: The Latest Architecture and News

The creative mediators of Manifesta 12 have revealed the concept for next year’s Manifesta 12 biennial in Palermo.

Entitled The Planetary Garden. Cultivating Coexistence, the concept will explore “coexistence in a world moved by invisible networks, transnational private interests, algorithmic intelligence and ever-increasing inequalities through the unique lens of Palermo – a crossroads of three continents in the heart of the Mediterranean.” 

The concept was derived from an earlier analysis conducted by OMA named the Palermo Atlas, which investigated the “social, cultural and geographical textures of the city.” The event will allow visitors to visualize contemporary global transformations through the lens of Palermo.

+ 23

Manifesta 12 creative mediator OMA has revealed the Palermo Atlas, an interdisciplinary urban study of Palermo that will inform the organization of 12th edition of Manifesta, the European Biennial of Contemporary Art, that will be held next year in the Italian city. Led by OMA partner Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli, the project outlines a blueprint for Palermo “to plan its future and as a research framework to ensure that Manifesta 12 achieves a long-term impact for the city and its citizens.”

+ 7

+ 24

The city of Palermo has been named the “Italian Capital of Culture” for 2018 by Italy’s Ministry of Culture, following the city’s selection of host for “Manifesta 12”, the European Biennial of Contemporary Art, this past November. With the decision, Palermo will receive a million euro award for promotion and public investment, which will likely result in a surge of tourism in the next year.

A photo posted by Manifesta Biennial (@manifestabiennial) on Nov 23, 2016 at 8:05am PST

OMA, led by partner Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli, have been chosen as the "Creative Mediators" for the 12th edition of Manifesta, which will be held in Palermo in 2018. The practice will assemble an interdisciplinary team to investigate the role of governance in the Italian city, and address how contemporary urban centers are affected by tourism, gentrification, migration and climate change. They will also work "with specialists from the fields of contemporary art, sociology, music, cinema and architecture" to develop a series of "interactive, interdisciplinary, performative and artistic interventions."