Museo Villa dei Cedri

Museo Villa dei Cedri
The flowerbed in front of the Museum functions as a statement: it transforms in botanical terms the topics of the current exhibition in the Museum's rooms. It goes with a legend and a dedicated page on website

How can museums act in the area of conflict between historical heritage and a climate-resilient future? How can museums use their parks and gardens productively as places of learning and sustainability transformation? What stories can be (re)told with and through the plants, soil, animals, works of art and the public? How can a climate-resilient future be shaped in the green spaces of museums beyond ecological upgrading measures and in interaction with the artistic programme? A historical Villa with its garden and an art collection covering from the 19th century to the 21st century is here considered as a unity, allowing to explore the interconnections between art, society, botany, landscape and communication in exhibition and education programs in an innovative way, beyond the limits of each discipline. The project «Dialogische Räume für Kunst und Natur» is a collaboration between the IUNR Institut für Umwelt und Natürliche Ressourcen ZHAW and the Museo Villa dei Cedri and shows how the transformation of a rather static museum-park structure into a lively, climate-resilient dialogic space implicating art, botany and local collaborations can succeed.
It applies mainly to following museums core activities: education, exhibition programs, sustainability, but communication and research are also fundamental part of the project.

Explain in one sentence why you think the project you nominate is outstanding and could serve as an example for the entire community of modern and contemporary art museums.

It embodies the contemporary reflexions on the culture-nature discourse, and works at the interface between heritage conservation, ecology, sustainability and mediation. The aim is here to go beyond the simple art and nature exhibition and turn the museum - the whole museum, as a structure, an event and exhibition programme, etc. - into a place for awareness-raising, dialogue and reflection on the issue of sustainability.

Explain why this practice or program is relevant and sustainable in creating meaningful and lasting connections with people, communities, and the museum context with a medium to long-term vision.

It brings a fundamental change of mindset to approach art exhibition and mediation programs. Public come here for art, but not only and not in a passive way.

www.museovilladeicedri.ch