Top and Flop of Manifesta 12 in Palermo

Manifesta 12 in Palermo, titled 'Il Giardino Planetario. Coltivare la coesistenza', curated by a team including OMA, ran from June 16 to November 4, 2018. The biennial sparked both praise and criticism. Highlights included collateral events like Alterazioni Video's 'Incompiuto. La nascita di uno stile' at Chiesa di San Mattia ai Crociferi, Massimo Bartolini's 'Caudu e Fridu' at Palazzo Oneto di Sperlinga, and shows at Palazzo Mazzarino, Teatro Ditirammu, and Fondazione Sant'Elia. The atmosphere was festive, with well-attended parties at Villa Bordonaro ai Colli and Nautoscopio. Masbedo's installations at Archivio di Stato and Palazzo Costantino, along with Yuri Ancarani's 'Whipping Zombie', were widely praised. Palazzo Butera, owned by Massimo Valsecchi, emerged as a key venue, showcasing works by Fallen Fruit, Maria Thereza Alves, Uriel Orlow, Melanie Bonajo, Renato Leotta, and Sergey Sapozhnikov, and is set to become a museum. Criticisms included perceived rhetorical themes given Palermo's existing coexistence, unnecessary local political disputes, overcrowded venues like Palazzo Mazzarino and Palazzo Oneto di Sperlonga, poor airport transport from Punta Raisi (train, bus, taxi scams), inadequate hospitality (e.g., Hotel Ambasciatori), and mismatched relationships between artworks and historic sites like Oratorio di San Lorenzo and Chiesa dello Spasimo.