Annabel Karim Kassar’s ‘Garden of Hesperides’ at The Brera Botanical Garden
Until April 30, 2026, visitors can explore Garden of Hesperides, an installation by Annabel Karim Kassar inspired by the Hesperides—mythological figures who, according to Greek tradition, guarded Hera’s garden of the golden apples.
The installation consists of an open portico-like structure and a series of nymph figures, rendered through painterly techniques and displayed in vertical vitrines scattered throughout the Brera Botanical Garden. As every year during Design Week, the Garden opens its gates to welcome thousands of visitors eager to experience this unexpected oasis—a paradise of greenery and tranquility in the heart of Milan.
A place of meditation for the Humiliati fathers and later for the Jesuits as early as the 14th century, the site was officially established as the Brera Botanical Garden in 1774 as part of the institutional reforms promoted by Maria Theresa of Austria. It soon became a center of advanced training in pharmacy and medicine. Since 1935, it has been managed by the University of Milan. In 2001, the Garden reopened after a restoration that reinstated its original layout.
The plant collections are organized according to botanical families or orders: some beds host medicinal species, while others are dedicated to edible, textile, or papermaking plants, as well as to specific environments such as Mediterranean, arid, or humid habitats.
The Garden also preserves several rare species, and among its large trees stand two Ginkgo biloba specimens that are 2.5 centuries old.
Annabel Karim Kassar, Garden of Hesperides, installation views, Brera Botanical Garden, Milan Design Week 2026. Photos © Inexhibit.
Views of the Brera Botanical Garden during the Milan Design Week 2026. Photos © Inexhibit.
Garden of Hesperides
by Annabel Karim Kassar with Annaka Design
and with Rubner Haus, Valpaint, and ABS Group
Brera Botanical Garden, 20-30April 2026
The project Garden of Hesperides is part of Interni Materiae