Urban Events as Cosmopolitan Accelerators and Post-Pandemic Cities: Reflections on Manifesta 12 in Palermo

Abstract

International events are important opportunities to generate (global) open spaces and networks, and are one of the greatest accelerators of cosmopolitan networks. The global Covid- 19 crisis asks us to rethink the mobility of people and the interconnections between and within cities, where networks and connections are the most powerful accelerators of what we may call the cosmopolitan dimension of urban life. How can we rethink Cosmopolitan Habitat in light of the pandemic? What kinds of international event will we be able to promote from an intra- and post-pandemic perspective? This contribution analyses the experiences of Manifesta 12 in Palermo. The event is explored as a field of experimentation and as a model for a capillary event based on the desire to connect and enhance places spread throughout a territory, as well as on the strong integration of the typical, art-history-driven contents of the biennial, and the cultural and political peculiarities of the city of Palermo and its cosmopolitan identity.