African Italians in the Arts Today
In conjunction with Nero su Bianco, which remains on view through July 19, the American Academy in Rome presents the third in a series of appointments exploring the themes engaged by the exhibition. The exhibition will be open from 4:00 to 7:00pm.
A roundtable discussion—organized in collaboration with the online magazine GRIOT—with a new generation of African Italians making a mark in literature, cinema, television, and fashion. Postwar Italy offered African Americans a refuge from racism in the United States, allowing them to excel in many artistic endeavors; today, the offspring of African immigrants in Italy have risen to the fore. The discussion will consider their accomplishments in various fields, assessing at the same time their status in an Italy transformed by immigration.
Participants in a conversation moderated by the film critic Marco Giusti include: fashion designer Stella Jean, writer Antonio Dikele Distefano, television presenter Wintana Rezene, and Fred Kuwornu, a director whose works include a documentary entitled 18 IUS Soli about the marginal status of second generation offspring of African immigrants in Italy.