Florence, kicks off the 6th edition of Black History Month Florence, the festival of black culture

Kicked off Thursday in Florence the sixth edition of Black History Month Florence, the festival dedicated to black culture and the diversity of Afro-descendant cultures in the Italian context, conceived and co-founded by artist Justin Randolph Thompson and since 2018 co-sponsored by the City of Florence. After five with over two hundred events and five ongoing research projects in dialogue with more than seventy partners, this year the festival will also have events in Bologna, Rome and Naples. The festival finds its roots in Black History Month, an annual celebration of the achievements of African Americans and a time to recognize their central role in U.S. history.

Building on the same principles, repurposed to suit the Italian context and needs, Black History Month Florence (BHMF) and Black History Month Bologna are expanding beyond the city walls, announcing, new this year, Black History Outside the Walls, an initiative designed to further expand territorial boundaries and connect with a wider network of institutions and individuals engaged in cultural activities. The announcement was made as part of a press conference held online on February 4, in the presence of Tommaso Sacchi (councillor for Culture of the City of Florence), Justin Randolph Thompson (creator of Black History Month Florence), Francesca Sborgi (promotion and communication officer for Le Gallerie degli Uffizi), Valentina Gensini (artistic director of MAD - Murate Art District), Fernando Fanutti (artistic director of Musicus Concentus) and Patrick Jöel Tatcheda Yonkeu (Director of Black History Month Florence), along with other representatives of the many entities with which BHMF collaborates.

Black History Month Florence is divided into BHMF Film, BHMF Art, BHMF Workshops, BHMF Lectures, BHMF Cuisine, BHMF Tours, BHMF Children and BHMF Theater/Dance forming a community that is committed to broadening the too-often flat view of African and Afro-descendant cultures and to disseminating multifaceted cultural programming. This initiative, in the form of a single platform, is a collection of voices designed to facilitate cross-cultural research and dialogue. Black History Month Florence is coordinated and organized by the BHMF Cultural Association founded in 2018 and registered as a non-profit organization in Italy. The association has been operating for the past five years without any administrative budget.

The theme of this year’s edition will be OSTINATE, a title designed to invoke the themes of community, tenacity and perseverance, and intended to be both an invitation and a provocation. The invitation is to persist in the socio-cultural work done so far, and which is increasingly necessary in light of the events that have touched the whole world in 2020. The provocation concerns the stubborn resistance to the recognition of Afro-descendants’ struggle for access to citizenship, labor rights and social inclusion in the definition of Italian-ness.

“Considering the current social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the efforts to find solidarity and community in virtual spaces,” says Justin Randolph Thompson, “we know that this year’s program will be crucial to succeeding in approaching our goals. That’s why we believe we need to take concrete action to move our thinking to a higher, national level with Black History Outside the Walls.”

“There is no better tool for countering all forms of absurd and dastardly racism than that of cultural knowledge,” comments Culture Councillor Tommaso Sacchi, “with a ’cross culture’ that creates exchanges of artists and art forms between different countries. This is why Florence since its inception is pleased to host this unique festival in Italy, dedicated to promoting ’black’ culture and the diversity of Afro-descendant cultures. Just as the name of this edition says, this Festival is truly obstinate and is confirmed and indeed growing despite the pandemic and is an important signal of hope for culture and for the city in particular.”

"OSTINED is a reflection on the obstinacy required to assert proactive strategies of cultural organization over a long period of time, as a manifestation of a vision that is not indifferent to the current times and the challenges of the present, but neither is it overly determined by them," says Janine Gäelle Dieudji, Co-Director and Vice President of the BHMF Cultural Association. “The association, in both its local and national declinations, is committed to providing the coherence and vibrancy necessary to give space for every culture to express itself in freedom, giving Afro-descendant cultures the right pace to establish themselves on par with other cultures and realities on the ground.”

The 2021 edition, the sixth for Black History Month Florence and the second edition for Black History Month Bologna, will also have a rich program of cultural initiatives. Below is the schedule of events planned during February for Black History Month Florence, Bologna and Fuori le Mura. Most of the events are virtual, free and open to the public. Details for each event, registration information and times are available on the BHMF website: blackhistorymonthflorence.com.

On Being Present second edition

On Being Present will be a virtual exhibition in collaboration with La Galleria degli Uffizi and will be officially announced on February 20 directly on the website of the famous art museum. Nine new works identified by a pool of international scholars who examined African bodies within works in the collections of the Uffizi Galleries and Palazzo Pitti will be presented during this edition. The list of scholars was selected in consultation with Paul Kaplan and Kate Lowe, consultants to the project.

YGBI Research Residency, second edition in collaboration with Numeroventi

Building on the need to share safe spaces of solidarity, collectivity and dialogue, in a context where marginalization and social stigma mark emerging Afro-descendant artists, YGBI Research Residency and Training Program is a collective experience born out of a collaboration between BHMF and OCAD and The Student Hotel. This year hosted by Numeroventi for 10 days, selected Afro-descendant artists were invited to spend time together working in the spaces of Numeroventi along with a series of meetings, dialogues and events curated by Black History Month Florence designed to stimulate their work and art. The second edition of the YGBI Research Residency involves four artists under the age of 35 and residing in Italy, led by mentor Arlette-Louise Ndakoze, Co-Artistic Director of SAVVY Contemporary. This edition’s artists are Adji Dieye, Silvia Rosi, Christian Offman and Kelly Costigliolo.

Black Archive Alliance third edition

Launched in 2018, the Black Archive Alliance is a research and education project that aims to highlight a selection of documents that reflect the realities and histories of African peoples, their diaspora, ties to our country and their representation in a range of public and private archives and collections. Starting this year, Black Archive Alliance will become resident within the Murate Art District (MAD) in Florence, remaining usable and accessible to all over time.

The Isle of Venus Kiluanji Kia Henda

The Isle of Venus is the title of an exhibition of the works of Kiluanji Kia Henda, curated by BHMF and realized in collaboration Murate Art District. The exhibition will be held in Mad’s Sala Anna Banti and can be visited by appointment (info at: valentina.gensini@muse.comune.fi.it). The title of the exhibition, “the Island of Venus,” emphasizes the socio-psychological myopia produced by the transformation of cities into thematic museum sites anchored in Renaissance romanticism or medieval gritty charm. An integral part of this patina is the dismissal of all non-aligned realities, capable instead of effectively evoking the social underpinnings of this consistent barrage.

Throwing the sack and hiding the hand

The second exhibition scheduled at MAD is “Throwing the Sack and Hiding the Hand,” a group exhibition (curated by BHMF, in co-production with MAD - Murate Art District) dedicated to the artists of the first edition of the YGBI Research Residency developed in collaboration with OCAD and The Student Hotel in February 2020 under the guidance of Andrea Fatona and Leaf Jerlefia. The residency reflects on spaces of non-performance, collectivity and the notion of diaspora. Bringing together five Afro-descendant artists under the age of 35 and residing in Italy, the exhibition designed for the Murate Art District cells embraces a range of narratives linking spirituality to education, colonial history and its materiality to historical activism, and is radically grounded in an experimental approach to the collective sharing of space. Beginning Feb. 10, 2021, exhibitions at MAD will be open every Wednesday and Thursday from 2:30-7:30 p.m. and by appointment by writing to: info.mad@muse.comune.fi.it

Whoever Drinks Black Earns Color

BHMF has partnered with “The Florentine” magazine to launch a column in 2020 with a focus on Blackness in the Italian context called Whoever Drinks Black Earns Color. The February 2021 issue will feature three articles focusing on the perception of Afro-descendant people in Italy, a photo essay looking at portraits of African figures in the Uffizi Galleries collection, and finally a spiritual reflection on McArthur Binion’s “Modern Ancient Brown” work at the Museo del 900. In addition, The Florentine Together will present two insights in the form of live dialogues curated by Justin Randolph Thompson and Janine Gaëlle Dieudji, co-founder and co-directors of BHMF, respectively.

Conferences, concerts and exhibitions

In addition to the pivotal projects, BHMF will host a series of lectures, workshops and exhibitions exploring what is called the Black Mediterranean and the role of music by Black artists as a meditation in a time of global crisis. Highlighted in particular are:

The series of concerts filmed in Florence’s historic Sala Vanni, with the support of Publiacqua and in collaboration with Musicus Concentus(partner since the first edition of BHMF). The concerts will be available for free streaming and will be produced under the title and theme “And the Clamor Became Voice” with David Blank, Tommy Kuti and Dre Love Feat. Drumz and Guido Masi.

The lecture series at NYU Florence and EUI, including a discussion on a new Black Mediterranean publication and a discussion on the theme of the vision of race within the Italian cultural heritage.

Four exhibitions including a solo project by Alexis Peskine titled A Piantare un Chiodo at Villa Romana in collaboration with Numeroventi and co-produced by Murate Art District, Kiluanji Kia Henda’s The Isle of Venus and Gettare un Sasso e Nascondere la Mano with Binta Diaw, Raziel Perin, Victor Fotso Nyie, Emmanuel Yoro and Francis Offman and finally a solo project at La Portineria with artist Ako Atikossie, all curated by BHMF.

Black History Month Bologna

Second Edition of Black History Month Bologna: The second edition of BHMBo co-founded in 2020 by BHMF director Justin Randolph Thompson and directed by Patrick Jöel Tatcheda Yonkeu consists of a series of virtual lectures and workshops focused on the geopolitics of the black body, Afro-sartorialism and representations of black Africa as figures in Western art history. The wide range of events in collaboration with many new partners includes fashion designer Defustel Ndjoko and artists Delphine Diallo and Gopal Dagnogo. Events will take place in the municipalities of Bologna and San Lazzaro di Savena, also in collaboration with the Piedmont Center for African Studies.

Black History Outside the Walls (BHFM)

Dialogues: For the first time, BHMF will engage in a series of events organized beyond the city walls in an effort to share the platform with cultural organizers throughout Italy. Thus, BHFM will see itself engaged in a series of lectures on topics such as the representation of black bodies in children’s books, Black Studies through the presentation of the translation of the book The Undercommons, and technology and innovation through the perspective of artists Temitayo Ogunbiyi and Ibrahim Mahama. The BHFM program was born from the joint collaboration of partners and entities such as BLM Rome, Jacobin, Scomodo, Temple University Rome, TAMU, Archive Books, Center for Postcolonial and Gender Studies (CSPG), University of Naples “L’Orientale” and MADRE Museum.

Pictured: a moment from the 2019 edition of the festival.

Florence, kicks off the 6th edition of Black History Month Florence, the festival of black culture

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