Black History Month Florence at its sixth edition becomes a national festival

It’s the sixth edition of Black History Month Florence, the event born in the Tuscan capital to celebrate the black community and the cultural production of Afrodescendants in Italy.  The sixth edition’s theme is OSTINATO (obstinate, stubborn), an adjective that expresses the need to carry out proactive strategies of cultural organization over a long period of time, despite the adverse historical period. It is not by chance that the festival, keeping the flag of obstinacy high, launches for the first time the initiative Black History Outside the Walls, with the aim of widening the range of action up to institutions and subjects engaged in cultural activities, from Bologna to Rome and Naples.

It deals with a month full of appointments – mostly online – that include stories, comparisons, debates, book and projects presentations; among the priority topics are access to citizenship, workers’ rights and social inclusion in the definition of Italians. There are also initiatives related to the artistic sphere, such as the YGBI Research Residency – dedicated to Africandescendant artists under 35 – and a project to review the history of art in collaboration with the Uffizi. “The association, both in its local and national forms,” explains Janine Gäelle Dieudji, co-chairman and vice president of the Cultural Association BHMF, “is committed to providing the necessary coherence and vivacity to give the Afrodescending cultures the right space, to assert themselves like other cultures and realities on the territory”. Complete program at www.blackhistorymonthflorence.com.

Opening image: Mbarek Bouhchichi, Terre, Installation, Terracotta, 2019. Savvy Contemporary, Black History Month Florence V edition.