Fondazione Merz

Events

Viaggio in Sicilia. Art, Landscape and Memory. A dialogue between Planeta and Fondazione Merz

An evening of dialogue and exchange exploring the value of travel as an artistic experience, and its connection to contemporary art, landscape, and memory

 

Sunday 18 May 2025 at 7 pm – Free entry

 

Speakers include:
Beatrice Merz, President of the Merz Foundation – Valentina Bruschi, Curator of the project Journey in Sicily – Vito Planeta, Head of Planeta Cultura – Evelina De Castro, Director of Riso, Regional Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Palermo – Davide Quadrio, Director of the Museum of Oriental Art, Turin – Ottavia Casagrande, Director of Sciaranuova Festival – Planeta – Chiara Barzini, Writer

On Sunday 18 May, Fondazione Merz will host an evening of dialogue and exchange dedicated to Viaggio in Sicilia, a nomadic residency project promoted for over twenty years by the Sicilian winery Planeta.

The event will be an opportunity to present the ninth edition of the book Coppe di stelle nel cerchio del sole and to explore the long-standing collaboration between Planeta and the Fondazione Merz.

As part of Salone OFF, linked to the Turin International Book Fair, the evening offers a reflection on travel as an artistic experience and on the deep connection between contemporary art, landscape, and memory.

The conversation will include a focus on Orientalism, a central theme of the exhibition Coppe di stelle nel cerchio del sole currently on show at Palazzo Abatellis. The talk will be led by Davide Quadrio, Director of MAO – Museum of Oriental Art in Turin – and curator of the solo show by Yto Barrada, winner of the fourth edition of the Merz Prize, on the final day of the exhibition at Fondazione Merz.

The event will also highlight the many connections between Planeta and Fondazione Merz in Sicily, emphasising the cultural bond between the Turin-based institution and the winery through shared values and collaborations – such as the curatorial theme of the latest edition of Viaggio in Sicilia, and partnerships with artists involved in the project.

Among the shared projects are: Radiceterna, a permanent library at the Botanical Garden of Palermo and a collateral event of Manifesta 12; the long-term loan of Mario Merz’s work Fibonacci, installed among the lava-stone terraces of Planeta’s Etna estate, which each year hosts the Sciaranuova Festival – Theatre in the Vineyard; the participation of Gili Lavy, finalist of the 2017 Mario Merz Prize and artist-in-residence in 2021; and the collaboration on the ZACentrale project at the Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa.

As a preview, the concert of the finalists of the fifth edition of the Mario Merz Prize – music section, scheduled for 29 June 2025 at Cantina Ulmo in Sambuca di Sicilia, will also be announced.

The evening will conclude with a Planeta wine toast.