OMA, PALERMO ATLAS, 2018

Palermo Atlas is an interdisciplinary analysis on the city of Palermo commissioned by Manifesta 12 and conducted by the architectural firm OMA – Office for Metropolitan Architecture. The research explores the architecture, archeology, anthropology of the city, its historical archives and personal stories. Contemporary Palermo is a subject of particularly fascinating studies. On the one hand it is a mosaic of identities, cultures and ecosystems, the result of centuries of meetings and exchanges between civilizations. On the other hand, it is the place where the great social and environmental challenges of our times are manifested, from the migration crisis to climate change.
Taking advantage of this complexity, Palermo Atlas wants to promote a reflection on social and environmental change and outline a research model that has a long-term impact on the city and its inhabitants. Palermo Atlas gathers the point of view of illustrious local observers such as Letizia Battaglia, Franco Maresco and Giorgio Vasta and the critical interventions of researchers in the field of architecture, urban planning and landscape such as Marina Otero, Nora Akawi and Giuseppe Barbera.
Manifesta is a European biennial of contemporary art based in Amsterdam. Manifesta takes place every two years in a different city: this year it will be hosted by Palermo. The curatorial project was entrusted to a team of Creative Mediators, consisting of the architect Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli, partner of the OMA studio, the Swiss Mirjam Varadinis, curator at the Kunsthaus in Zurich, the Spanish architect and artist Andrés Jaque, founder of the Office of Political Innovation, and the Dutch director and journalist Bregtje van der Haak. The theme of the twelfth edition of Manifesta is «The Planetary Garden. Cultivating coexistence ».