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 which brings the afro-diasporic community of Greece to the forefront designed of, by and for over thirty members of the communities in Greece, carried out in collaboration with the 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.
The exhibition “Africa Amongst us*” is part of the Action “The Collections of the Benaki Museum and Contemporary Design” of the Program “Attiki”, Partnership Agreement 2021-2027, and is co-funded by the European Union.
Guided Tours
Guided tours to “Africa Amongst Us*” exhibition will be carried out by the exhibition curators and members of the afro-diasporic community of Greece, the following dates:
Sunday, 16/02/2025, at 12:00
Sunday, 23/02/2025, at 12:00
Saturday, 01/03/2025, at 12:00
Sunday, 02/03/2025, at 12:00
Saturday, 16/03/2025, at 12:00
Conducted in Greek and in English.
