Africa Amongst Us
What: A recent donation to the Benaki Museum, with objects mainly from Nigeria, Cameroon and Kenya, acted as trigger to collect stories of people of African descent born or living in Greece. “Africa Amongst us*” is a participatory exhibition that gives voice and visibility to the Afro-diasporic communities in Greece, designed of, by and for over thirty members of the community, carried out in collaboration with ANASA Cultural Centre for African Art and Cultures.
The result of this collaboration and the creation of new content presents the richness of African, Greek-African and Pan-African cultural heritage through artworks, material culture, archival material, personal objects as well as the narratives that accompany them. This exhibition demonstrates the universal truth that objects can tell stories that empower us and help build strong communities.
The set of objects and testimonies, which constitutes the core of the exhibition, is accompanied by more than thirty activities, events, performances, guided tours, theatrical and musical performances, workshops, discussions, and a pop-up exhibition of artists of African origin active in Greece. The multidimensional exhibition “Africa amongst us*” highlights the cultural rights of people of migrant origin and gives voice to community members of African origin. In the space of the museum, cultural narratives and identities are bridged, and “difficult” issues are raised regarding Greekness, blackness, justice, representation, racism and discrimination in contemporary Greek society.
When: From February 13 to May 25
Where: Pireos 138, Athens
