2015_Italian de-colonial memory politics

With In the belly of fascism and colonialism my interest is on the one hand to analyse historical colonialism and fascism, with a particular reference to the italian context, and their intersection with contemporary forms of coloniality and modes of fascistation, on the other hand to envision a de-colonial thinking in all spheres of our life (from education, to politics, love, relations, work, etc) that is gaining space in white dominated societies through the cultural work and activism – in this particular context – of people who have a (post)-colonial lineage and counteract hegemonic narratives given as “natural” and unquestioned.

In this regards I want to mention the three guests of the program “Italian de-colonial memory politics” that I organised during my stay in Innsbruck in collaboration with the Künstlerhaus Büchsenhausen and the Italien Zentrum: Dagmawi Yimer, Antar Mohamed Marincola and Igiaba Scego (the latter unfortunately had to cancel her participation). These events didn’t take place exclusively at the center Büchsenahusen rather the plan was from the very beginning to reach a wider audience also by choosing different locations in the city. We have been hosted for the screening of the first Dagmawi Yimer’s film at the cinema Leo Kino and for the reading with Antar Marincola at the venue P.m.k. (Plattform mobile Kulturinitiativen). Each event was followed by a session with questions to the guests, comments and open discussions.

Dagmawi Yimer, a documentary film maker based in Verona, was invited to present two of his movies: Va’Pensiero-Walking stories tells the story of two violent racists attacks in Milan and Florence, the last resulting in the killing of two men, Samb Modou and Diop Mor, by the hand of a fascist nostalgic affiliated with the extreme right political organisation called Casa Pound; Like a Man on Earth lends a voice to Ethiopian refugees living in Rome and so provides direct insights into how Libya, with the support of Italy and the European Union, is seeking in brutal ways to control the immigration attempts made by people coming from different African countries.

Screening of Dagmawi Yimer’s film Like a Man on Earth followed by and open discussion at Künstlerhaus Büchsenhausen (Innsbruck) 24.03.2015 Photos by Daniel Jarosch

Screening of Dagmawi Yimer’s film Va’Pensiero-Walking stories followed by and open discussion at Leokino (Innsbruck) 23.03.2015 Photos by Daniel Jarosch

Antar Mohamed Marincola was invited to read from his book Timira – Romanzo meticcio, written in collaboration with Wu Ming 2, with musical accompaniment from Maurizio Nardo. Timira is a hybrid novel that combines memories, documents from archives, and fiction. The novel covers seventy years of Italian (post-)colonial history from the beginnings of fascism to the end of the Cold War, and is written from the standpoint of a Black Italian woman. Her Italian name is Isabella Marincola, Antar’s mother; in Somalia, the country of her birth, she calls herself Timira.

Reading of the book "Timira" by Antar Mohamed Marincola with musical accompaniment by Maurizio Nardo at p.m.k.(Innsbruck) 14.04.2015 Photos by Annalisa Cannito

Reading of the book “Timira” by Antar Mohamed Marincola with musical accompaniment by Maurizio Nardo at p.m.k.(Innsbruck) 14.04.2015 Photos by Annalisa Cannito