UniPa Heritage, the Museum System of the University of Palermo, is among the 29 national winners of PAC2025 – Plan for Contemporary Art, promoted by the Ministry of Culture, with the aim of enriching Italy's public heritage through the acquisition, production and promotion of contemporary artworks.

The work, evocatively titled “The day Woodii woke up female”, will be created at the Botanical Garden of Palermo and is part of the larger project “Celibi. History of a botanical migration”, created by artist Donata Lazzarini and curated by Maria Rosa Sossai.

The initiative aims to raise awareness of the issue of biodiversity depletion, making its consequences visible through the language of art and scientific research. The focus of the project is the story of the “loneliest plant in the world”, Encephalartos woodii, a rare species belonging to the cycad family, of which only the male specimen has been identified, decreeing its extinction in the wild.

The artistic project involves the creation of ten ceramic and porcelain sculptures representing the imaginary forms of the extinct female reproductive structure (strobile). Window stickers will also be applied to the façade of the Cactaceae Greenhouse, reproducing maps inspired by the rhizomatic structure of the plant and the philosophical theory of the “rhizome”.

The works will become part of the Botanical Garden's permanent collection, strengthening the dialogue between contemporary art and science. The initiative also includes a rich public programme that will feature guided walks, talks and international conferences.

For more details, you can read the full article on the University of Palermo website: Plan for Contemporary Art PAC2025: the UniPa Museum System among the 29 winners out of 101 projects submitted throughout Italy.