Manifesta 12: European Art Festival Comes to Palermo

This summer and fall, Palermo is home to the 12th installment of Manifesta, a festival dedicated to the exchange of art across the world. The festival features works by landscape architect Gilles Clément of France, contemporary artist Jelili Atiku of Nigeria, and screenwriter/Palermo native Giorgio Vasta. Notable locations include Palazzo Forcella De Seta, Teatro Garibaldi, and Chiesa di SS. Euno e Giuliano. Following the opening of esteemed Sicilian photojournalist Letizia Battaglia’s International Photography Center last year, Palermo is on track to recenter itself as a focal point of art and culture.

Founded by Hedwig Fijen after the Cold War to promote understanding and foster cross-cultural appreciation, Manifesta is held in a different European city every two years. 2018 is the second time Manifesta has occurred in Italy; in 2008, Manifesta 7 was hosted in Trentino Alto Adige. Palermo’s rich history and cultural significance, as well as its struggle to overcome the modern environmental and migration crises, made the Sicilian city an ideal choice for Manifesta 12. As Fijen explains: “Manifesta 12 in Palermo is a great challenge to rethink how far cultural interventions can play a role in helping re-shaping one of the most iconic Mediterranean crossroads in our history as part of a long term transformation process.”

Manifesta 12 is open from June 16 to November 4, 2018.

– Joe Powers