EXHIBITION

The Art of Humanity - Rome

Sixteen countries, 13 collections, more than 2,000 artists with 10×12 centimetre artworks. An unprecedented and rich artistic portrait of Africa, among historical roots and innovation, local visual cultures and globalization.

20 November 2014 / 11 Jenuary 2015

Museo Carlo Bilotti, Aranciera di Villa Borghese - Rome

Curated by

Imago Mundi Foundation

Discover More

Da Imago Mundi Collection

Egypt

Eritrea

Ethiopia

Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar

Mauritania/Gambia

Morocco

Mozambique

Senegal

Somalia

South Africa

Sudan

Tunisia

Zimbawe

“Until the lion tells his own story, tales of the hunt will always glorify the hunter” Imago Mundi, the global art project sponsored by Luciano Benetton and the Fondazione Benetton Studi Ricerche, has embraced this evocative metaphor, much valued by Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe, bringing together 13 contemporary art collections from 16 African countries.

Organized in collaboration with Roma Capitale, the Department of Culture, Creativity and Artistic Promotion – Superintendent Capitolina of Cultural Heritage, and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the exhibition offers an unprecedented, rich and fascinating visual story created exclusively by African artists, established names and young talents. A contribution to the reflection on an African aesthetic, which, overcoming prejudices and stereotypes, represents the ethnic, social, geographic and cultural diversities of an entire continent.

“This exhibition is a journey across a continent that is both young and ancient, whose art – heterogeneous, hybrid, intense
– can be a driver of the development of African communities and an urgent solicitation to refresh the Western aesthetic”, says Luciano Benetton. “Looking at these works, the secret of their all encompassing beauty manifests itself in our minds as a dazzling revelation: African art moves, unsettles, engages, sets in motion. I believe that from ancient roots, the work of these African artists tell us of the world to come”.

With this exhibition, Imago Mundi has the important task of representing the decisive role of art and culture in the development of the African continent, as part of the Italy-Africa initiative, a project promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which will conclude with a Ministerial Conference in 2015.

The exhibition in Rome, a sum of styles, ferment, voices and stories, creations of different African countries, represents a new leg on the journey of the Imago Mundi project, of which the main ambition is to build and pass on to future generations a visual map of human cultures.

Inauguration Video