Memorie (In Ascolto): Art and Memory at Rome's Iris Market

The project 'Memorie (In Ascolto)' brings two site-specific installations to the Iris covered market in Rome's Centocelle district, as part of the Futura Memoria – Contemporaneamente Roma 2019 program. Running from November 23 to 26, 2019, the interventions aim to integrate art into the daily life of the market, fostering direct, unmediated encounters with the public. Curated by Johanne Affricot, the project features a five-channel video installation on November 23 with musicians Clavdio, David Blank, Mudimbi, Technoir, and Vhelade, who explore themes of identity, colonialism, and racism. A second installation involves live readings by authors Eleonora Chigbolu, Louis Fabrice Tshimanga, Claudia Galal, and Livio Ghilardi from a limited-edition fanzine GRIOT/LIT, held on November 25 and 26 from 11:00 to 13:00. The project addresses Afro-Italian identity, memory, and visibility, challenging invisibility and colonial amnesia. Affricot also discusses her broader work, including 'The Expats' mapping Black Italian creatives abroad, the performance 'Mirrors' in sub-Saharan Africa, and the founding of the cultural association LIT with Celine Angbeletchy and Thomas Layne to support Afro-descendant artists.