This programme is part of the festival Forum on European Culture, 17 – 20 September in Amsterdam.
“I saw a continent full of opportunity, of parallels, of possible solidarity, but ultimately what I found empowering was knowing that the continent was full of people like me.”
During this evening, we will take a journey with author/photographer Johny Pitts to search for the black experience in Europe, as expressed through the arts.
How can we understand our continent better by seeing it through Afropean eyes? With cultural antropologist Francio Guadeloupe and author Johny Pitts we will discuss the value of labels such as Afropean. Lisette Ma Neza responds to the work of Johny and to the conversation with several poetry slam performances during the evening.
Moderator: Rokhaya Seck
This event will be streamed on 19 September 5:00 pm on our website.
Speakers
Johny Pitts (United Kingdom, 1987) is an author, presenter, poet, photographer, and musician, performing music with the Bare Knuckle Soul Collective. He recently wrote the book ‘Afropean: Notes from Black Europe’, part of the larger Afropean project which attempts to explore the interaction between black and European cultures in diverse ways including photography, performance and film. In the book, Pitts travels through a number of European cities, searching for a culture that embraces blackness and is yet fundamentally of Europe.
Francio Guadeloupe‘s roots and routes connect the French, Dutch, English, and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean. He was born on the Dutch West Indian Island of Aruba, but has lived most of his life in Europe. His principal areas of research have been on the ways in which nationalism, multiculturality, media, and religion continue to be impacted by the long colonial moment and global capital. Currently, Dr. Guadeloupe is researching the culturalisation of citizenship in Europe.
Speakers
