Three exhibitions at MAD Murate Art District centre on Afro-descendant artists from February 10 through to April 2, 2022, curated in collaboration with Black History Month Florence. This year’s festival has been renamed Black History Fuori Le Mura, dedicated to Black culture in Italian contexts. The initiative was co-founded and directed by Justin Randolph Thompson, with Valentina Gensini directing events at MAD.
Fuga (musical term for melodic theme introduced by one voice and taken up by others) was launched at the Murate Art district (piazza delle Murate) on February 10, the collective name for the three exhibitions and events programme. The theme for the edition is a meditation on the fugitvity of Blackness, and its blurring of the lines between the local and transnational. The works on show are Hazel, a double video projection by Kevin Jerome Everson, How other people’s bread tastes like salt, an autobiographical work by Nidhal Chamekh, and research work titled the Black Archive Alliance vol. IV by Jessica Sartiani as part of a three-year collaboration between MAD and BHMF. The inauguration also saw the presentation of a new audiovisual project by DeForrest Brown, Jr. and James titled Hoff Hobo Ufo V:(The new world), that examines the tumultuous geographical history of the migratory history of Afro-descendants in America. Info and reservations at T: 055 2476873, Email: info.mad@musefirenze.it
The BHMF cultural association also marks the month dedicated to Black culture with a new cycle of research at The Recovery Plan cultural centre at the Santa Reparata International School of Art. Circling around Città Foresta, a solo exhibition dedicated to the research project by the Milan-based artist, Délio Jasse, the work is developed ahead of the artist’s forthcoming residency at Civitella Ranieri, in Umbria, and consists of an introspective meditation on Italian colonial history examined through documents and photographs typically found within personal homes. The research is furthered by Antonella Bundu’s reflection, titled Jacovacci, in collaboration with the Murate Art District, examining archival photographs and materials relating to Leone Jacovacci and his boxing match against Mario Bosisio in the Stadio PNF at the height of Fascism.
