The City of Palermo, Italy is the host city of
Manifesta 12 in 2018
Manifesta 12 will open on 16 June 2018 until 4
November 2018. Local press & TV previews are on 13 June 2018.
VIP, professional and international press previews are on
14 and 15 June 2018.
Visit Manifesta 12 website to stay up to date
with the latest news of Manifesta 12 Palermo.
Manifesta, the nomadic European Contemporary Art
Biennial, originated in the early nineties in response to the political,
economic and social changes following the end of the Cold War and the subsequent
steps towards European integration. Since then, Manifesta has developed into a
travelling platform that focuses on the dialogue between art and society in
Europe. Manifesta is a project based on community: its success depends on the
collaboration between the international and local actors and the involvement
and engagement of the local communities.
The City of Palermo was important for Manifesta’s
selection board for its representation of two important themes that identify
contemporary Europe: migration and climate changes and how these issues impact
our cities. The multi-layered and deeply condensed history of Palermo – being
occupied by almost every European civilization and having long-term connections
with Northern Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean over the last 2000 years –
has left its traces throughout this multi-cultural society at the heart of the
Mediterranean area.
“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 will raise questions such as: “Who owns
the city of Palermo?” and “how to claim back the city?“ The city’s migration
problems are symbolic of the far wider crisis situation which the whole of
Europe is facing right now.”
Hedwig Fijen, Manifesta Director
“Manifesta 12 in Palermo in 2018 will be a fantastic
opportunity for the city to reinvigorate its local and international identity.
It is a moment for Europe to appreciate the significance of its Mediterranean
dimension and identity: Palermo brings Manifesta to the Mediterranean and the
Mediterranean to Europe. Manifesta 12 is an opportunity to celebrate Palermo
for what it really is: a laboratory for the humanities, arts and culture. The
city will be able to renew itself and pave a way for its future.”
Leoluca Orlando, Mayor of Palermo
Manifesta 12’s main ambition is to work in a truly
interdisciplinary way with local communities in order to rethink the basic
architectural, urban, economic, social and cultural structures of the city.
Manifesta 12 can investigate how great the role of cultural intervention can be
in allowing the Palermitani citizens to take back ownership of their city.
Manifesta 12 in Palermo can act as a grass-root incubator supporting the local
communities with cultural interventions: this will help to rethink the city in
their socio-economical and cultural structures and will use the existing
informal profile of the city to act as a platform for social change.
The upcoming pre-biennial program will start in building
the process for a sustainable theoretical framework and will set out the
parameters of the city’s revitalisation process. In this phase, Manifesta would
like to activate the communities of Palermo in the identification of its
mission statement and objectives, as well as the challenges, expectations and
outcomes of Manifesta 12.
About the biennial
Manifesta, the roving European Biennial of Contemporary
art, changes it location every two years – Rotterdam (1996), Luxembourg (1998), Ljubljana(2000), Frankfurt (2002), San Sebastian (2004), Nicosia (2006 – cancelled), Trentino-South
Tyrol (2008), Murcia in dialogue with northern
Africa (2010), Limburg (2012), St.
Petersburg (2014) and Zurich (2016) . The upcoming
editions will take place in Palermo (2018) and Marseille (2020).
Manifesta purposely strives to keep its distance from
what are often seen as the dominant centres of artistic production,
instead seeking fresh and fertile terrain for the mapping of a new cultural
topography. This includes innovations in curatorial practices, exhibition
models and education. Each Manifesta biennial aims to investigate and reflect
on emerging developments in contemporary art, set within a European
context. In doing so, we present local, national and international audiences
with new aspects and forms of artistic expression.
Each Manifesta comprises a range of activities extending
over a period of two or more years. This incorporates publications,
meetings, discussions and seminars (the so-called ‘Coffee Breaks’),
staged in diverse locations throughout Europe and in the neighbouring regions,
culminating in the final three-month long exhibition (or in 2006, an ‘art
school’) in the host city or region. In this way, Manifesta aims to create
a keen and workable interface between prevailing international artistic
and intellectual debates, paying attention to the specific qualities and
idiosyncrasies of a given location.
Inherent to Manifesta’s nomadic character is the desire
to explore the psychological and geographical territory of Europe, referring
both to border-lines and concepts. This process aims to establish closer
dialogue between particular cultural and artistic situations and the
broader, international fields of contemporary art, theory and politics in
a changing society. Manifesta has a pan-European vocation and at each
edition, it has successfully presented artists, curators, young
professionals and trainees from as many as 40 different countries.
With the
expansion of the European community from 12 to 28 countries, and with the
possible target of around 30 nations in the foreseeable future, Manifesta
also realizes the importance of creating links with Europe’s neighbours
in Asia, the eastern Mediterranean and northern Africa. At the same time,
it continues to focus on minority groups and cultures within Europe
itself. Therefore Manifesta looks forward to expanding its network and
building creative partnerships with organizations, curators, art professionals
and independent figureheads in Europe and beyond, drafting an
interlocking map of contemporary art.
Stay Tuned By Angel Bashile
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