John Cabot University Students Exhibit Art in Rome's Botanical Garden

Students from John Cabot University's Department of Art History and Studio Art have transformed Rome's Orto Botanico into an exhibition space from April 28, 2022. The show, developed under professors Catherine Biocca, Valerio Di Lucente, Rä DiMartino, and James Gardner, features student works that interact with the garden's landscape. The exhibition invites visitors on a treasure hunt through the garden, searching for photos, prints, and paintings framed against green and earthy tones. During the one-day vernissage, students from the Curating Museums and Galleries course, led by curator Ilaria Gianni, presented 'Uprooted,' a show focused on displacement of peoples and communities. Artists Sonia Andresano, Alessandro Calizza, Eleonora Cerri Pecorella, Luca Grimaldi, and Guendalina Urbani created passport-like stickers representing accessibility and lack thereof in immigration processes. These stickers mark five non-native plant species in the garden, likening them to refugees and travelers receiving stamps at border control. The Orto Botanico, located at Largo Cristina di Svezia, 23 A, is managed by the Department of Environmental Biology of Sapienza University of Rome.