A bridge between Sicily and Japan, the “Ragusa-Kiyohara” museum reopens, a 140-year history – BlogSicilia

Celebrate the link between Sicily and Japan through art and culture. A bridge is established between the two cultures and “Japanism” spreads thanks to its two main exponents and the reopening of museum “Vincenzo Ragusa O’Tama Kiyohara” inside the higher education institute in Piazza Turba in Palermo. On the occasion of 140 years from the foundation of the arctic-industrial high school, on Tuesday 23 April 2024 at 6 pm, the official ribbon cutting will be held which will make the new museum exhibition accessible to the entire school and non-school community.

The exhibition traces the fascinating itinerary of Vincenzo Ragusa, sculptor, teacher and collector active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The exhibition highlights his role, together with that of O’Tama Kiyohara, in spreading “Japanism” in Sicily. Both contributed to the foundation of the “Museum-School” in 1884, a unique institution of its kind that hosted Japanese workers.

The exhibition includes watercolours, ceramics and sculptures

The exhibition offers a broad overview of the Japonismfeaturing works by O’Tama Kyyohara, including delicate watercolors, and a selection of original artifacts from collection Japanese, such as lacquerware, ceramics and fabrics from Kyoto and China. There is no shortage of works by Vincenzo Ragusa, including a sculpture, drawings and photographs of the equestrian monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi and his plaster bust, recently restored.

In the itinerary it will also be possible to admire a significant collection of ceramics, a section dedicated to sacred art, including three recently restored 17th-10th-8th century frontals, and a further section dedicated to 20th century art, characterized by numerous works created by students and teachers of the school, including Alessandro Manzo.

The school-museum of 1884

The “Vincenzo Ragusa e Otama Kiyohara” art high school in Palermo boasts a rich and fascinating history, which began way back in 1884 with the foundation of the “Industrial Art Museum of Workshop Schools”. The institute, created to train young artists, has been led from the beginning by Vincenzo Ragusa and O’Tama Kiyohara, key figures in the spread of “Japanism” in Sicily.

Over the course of its 140 years of history, the institute has gone through various phases, changing its name and location: in 1884 the “Industrial Art Museum of Workshop Schools” was founded, based in Palazzo Belvedere; in 1887 the school became the “Royal High School of Art Applied to Industry” and moved to Palazzo Airoldi. Later, in 1924 with the Gentile reform, the “Royal Institute and School of Art” was born and moved to the former Schiavuzzo monastery. Subsequently, in 1970 the institute found its current headquarters in Piazza General Turba, then in 2005 it was entitled “Vincenzo Ragusa and O’Tama Kiyohara” until 2019, when the Delitala museum was dedicated to Vincenzo Ragusa and O’Tama Kiyohara, with the integration of works from the original Japanese collection.

The new exhibition setup

The new exhibition setup which will be opened to the public on 23 April 2024 at the ISS “Vincenzo Ragusa-O’Tama Kiyohara”, was created through a synergistic work in which the regional center “Design and restoration”, the art high school Italian-Swiss University of Zurich, the University of Palermo together with the central role of the archivist Marcello Messina, who recovered a large part of the historical archive of the current art high school.

The reopening of the museum represents a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in the charm of Japonism and discover its connection with Sicily. Furthermore, the event also includes the issuing of a celebratory postcard by the Italian post office.