Belinda Kazeem-Kamiński's 'Aerolectics' at Kunst Meran Exposes Colonial Missionary Abductions

Key facts

• Belinda Kazeem-Kamiński's solo exhibition 'Aerolectics' at Kunst Meran – Merano Arte runs through June 2025.
• The exhibition exposes the forced deportation of African children by Catholic missionaries in the 19th century, particularly in German-speaking areas.
• The show centers on Asue*, a Sudanese girl purchased by priest Niccolò Olivieri and imprisoned in the Ursuline convent of Brunico on January 11, 1855, along with Gambra* and Schiama*.
• Asue* was baptized as Angela and described as 'indomitable as a storm' by nuns.
• The exhibition features new works including video, installations, sculptures, and immersive rooms.
• A racist offering box is displayed in a red-lit box.
• Nkisi statuettes (ceramic icons with votive nails on a mirror) are part of the installation, referencing the Yoruba god Oya.
• The exhibition closes the first chapter of the tricontinental program 'The Invention of Europe' curated by Simone Frangi and Lucrezia Cippitelli.
• A seminar 'Riparare e restituire' on March 16 discusses restitution of cultural goods, including an Ethiopian cloak brought to Merano as war booty by General Enea Navarini.
• A performance evening on April 11 features Masimba Hwati and Melika Ngombe Kolongo (Nkisi), organized with Festival Sonora.
• The second chapter of 'The Invention of Europe' focusing on the Americas opens in June.