Celibi. Story of a Botanical Migration by artist Donata Lazzarini, curated by Maria Rosa Sossai, is now underway. The project examines the consequences of biodiversity depletion through the languages of art, education, and scientific research, with a series of study days consisting of a guided visit with students and the public, a workshop, a seminar, and an international conference. It also includes an exhibition titled The Day Woodii Woke Up Female, which will open on May 8, 2026 at 5:00 PM at the Botanical Garden of the University of Palermo.

Supported by the public call PAC2025 – Plan for Contemporary Art, promoted by the Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity of the Italian Ministry of Culture, the project is commissioned by Unipa Heritage, the Museum System of the University of Palermo, with the aim of producing new artworks to be housed in the Botanical Garden.

This initiative continues the path through contemporary art and culture that this important scientific institution has pursued since 2017, when it hosted the Garden of Flows section of Manifesta 12 – Palermo, along with interventions and works by artists such as Fallen Fruit, Domenico Pellegrino, Alessandro Sala, and Francesco Diluca, to name just a few. In this context, the Botanical Garden of the University of Palermo, the richest in Italy and among the foremost in Europe thanks to its outstanding scientific collection of over 12,000 living plant species and its approximately 10-hectare extension, promotes the project by Donata Lazzarini, an artist and Professor of Sculpture at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan, whose research focuses on the relationships between environment and landscape through diverse artistic practices.

Celibi. Story of a Botanical Migration originates from an emblematic episode in the history of botany, that of Encephalartos woodii, one of the rarest plants on the planet.

Discovered in 1895 in the Ngoye Forest (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa) by the botanist John Medley Wood, after whom the plant was named, E. woodii is a cycad belonging to the order Cycadales, among the most ancient plant forms on Earth. Only a male, multi-stemmed group of this species was ever found; the uprooting and relocation of the existing specimens led to its extinction in the wild in 1916, while allowing its survival ex situ in botanical gardens and collections. Today, E. woodii exists only as a clone or hybrid; the closest to the original South African species is Encephalartos woodii × natalensis, preserved at the Botanical Garden of the University of Palermo.

PUBLIC PROGRAM CALENDAR

Celibi. Story of a Botanical Migration

Tuesday, March 24, 5:00–6:00 PM
Botanical Garden of the University of Palermo

Walking with Woodii

Guided tour with Manlio Speciale, curator of the Botanical Garden of the University of Palermo, Donata Lazzarini, and Maria Rosa Sossai, together with the classes of the Contemporary Plastic Techniques course at the Academy of Fine Arts of Palermo, led by Professor Francesco Albano. Admission for the public with an entry ticket.

Wednesday, March 25, 9:00 AM–12:00 PM
Academy of Fine Arts of Palermo

What Is Becoming Extinct

Workshop by Donata Lazzarini at the Academy of Fine Arts of Palermo for students of the Contemporary Plastic Techniques course led by Professor Francesco Albano.

A selection of the sculptures produced by the students will be installed in the Botanical Garden of the University of Palermo and will be on view on the day of the exhibition opening.

Wednesday, May 6, 6:00 PM
RISO – Regional Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Palermo

Becoming Female

Talk: artist Donata Lazzarini and curator Maria Rosa Sossai in conversation with artist Laura Cinti, co-founder of C-LAB, a London-based collective combining art, science, and technology. Moderated by Diego Mantoan, Associate Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at the University of Palermo.

The talk is part of the Contemporary Conversations Cycle coordinated by Diego Mantoan and of the doctoral study days of the University of Palermo and the Academy of Fine Arts.

Participants include Michelangelo Gruttadauria, President of the University Museum System (SiMuA), and Rosario Schicchi, Director of the Botanical Garden of the University of Palermo.

Thursday, May 7, 2:30–7:30 PM
Friday, May 8, 9:30 AM–1:30 PM
Sala delle Capriate, Steri Monumental Complex

International conference: Biodiversity Protection, Nature Restoration, and De-extinction

Friday, May 8, 5:00 PM
Botanical Garden of the University of Palermo

Opening of the exhibition The Day Woodii Woke Up Female

Finally, two educational workshops will take place at the Botanical Garden on Saturday, May 9 and Sunday, May 10, titled Seminudi, led by Caterina Strafalaci, co-founder of the project Radici. Piccolo Museo della Natura.

Donata Lazzarini is an artist and Professor of Sculpture at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan. Her work focuses on the relationships between environment and landscape through diverse artistic practices. Her attention to and study of botanical elements are developed through sculpture, photography, and drawing.

She has presented her work in national and international contexts, including: the Rome Quadriennale, Museo Civico di Castelbuono (Palermo), Museo della Permanente (Milan), Accademia di San Luca (Rome), Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa (Venice), Galleria Internazionale Ca’ Pesaro (Venice), Galleria Civica di Modena, Biblioteca Braidense (Milan), Premio Suzzara (Mantua), GAM Verona – Palazzo Forti, GAM Verona – Palazzo della Ragione, Artericambi Gallery (Verona), Cicognani Galerie Kohl, Cavenaghi Arte (Milan), Adiacenze (Bologna), and Careof (Milan). She is co-founder of fuoriregistro and Boîte edizioni.

Maria Rosa Sossai is a curator and researcher working in the field of participatory practices involving civic engagement. She develops projects related to territorial policies in the areas of education and the protection of the environment, ecosystems, and biodiversity.

She is Scientific Director of the Participatory Projects Department at the Museo Civico di Castelbuono (Palermo). She curated the project Connected Ecosystems. Post-Varietal Museum and Community by the artist duo Aterraterra, winner of PAC2024, at the Museo Civico di Castelbuono.

She has curated exhibitions and projects in museums, foundations, and galleries in Italy and abroad. She is the author of numerous publications, including Anna and Giorgio Fasol. A Life of Collecting (Dario Cimorelli Editore, Milan, 2024); Living Together: Art as an Educational Practice (Torri del Vento, Palermo); and Artist’s Film: Paths and Dialogues between Art and Cinema (Silvana Editoriale, 2009).

The Botanical Garden of the University of Palermo dates back to the late 18th century. The architect Léon Dufourny designed the original layout of the garden and its monumental buildings, including the Gymnasium and the two lateral pavilions, the Tepidarium and the Calidarium, enriched with decorative elements created by various artists, including the painter G. Velasco and the sculptors G. Ferriolo and V. Tuccio.

The Botanical Garden is composed of collections arranged and scientifically classified according to aesthetic and landscape criteria. It is divided into several sections: the Linnaean System, the Engler System, the Cycadetum, the Palmetum, and the Garden of Medicinal Plants.

Today, the Botanical Garden of Palermo is the richest in Italy and among the foremost in Europe. In addition to its outstanding scientific collection of over 6,000 plants, since 2017 it has also hosted contemporary artworks. In 2018, it served as a primary source of inspiration for the international curatorial project Manifesta, hosting the section Garden of Flows within The Planetary Garden and Cultivating Coexistence as part of the nomadic biennial.

Since 2019, it has hosted Spektro Completo / Iridescenza by the duo Fallen Fruit; since 2020, Genius Panormi by Domenico Pellegrino has been installed inside the Tropical Greenhouse. Recent acquisitions include photographs by Alessandro Sala (PAC 2021) and two works by Francesco Diluca, Mangrovia (2024) and Micelio (2024).

Information

The Botanical Garden of the University of Palermo is located at Via Lincoln 2, 90133 Palermo (PA) and is part of the Museum System of the University of Palermo.

It is open year-round, every day, except January 1 and December 25. Opening hours vary by month and can be checked on the website:
https://www.ortobotanico.unipa.it/index.html

Last admission is approximately one hour before closing time.

For updated information, you can contact the ticket office at +39 091 23891236 or write to ortobotanico@unipa.it

Press Office – Project

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