French artist JR's show on refugee kids opens in Turin
The French artist JR has brought photos of children he met on visits to refugee camps in locations including Rwanda and Greece to Turin in northern Italy. The exhibition runs until July 16.
art and culture
Call for entries: DiMMi in Italy launches prize to feature migrant voices
Migrants wishing to talk about their personal experience can send a written text, an audio story, photos or drawings until March 31 for the eighth edition of Dirari Multimediali Migranti (DiMMi, or Multimedia Diaries by Migrants). Meanwhile, a collection of essays by finalists of the 2021 edition is available in bookstores.
Richie Nath: Painting against the Burmese military dictatorship
Richie Nath is 27-year-old painter who fled Myanmar after the 2021 military coup. He is now a refugee in Paris where he continues to paint artworks criticizing the Burmese military junta's brutal repression of dissent. Rights groups and investigative media have documented Myanmar's systematic killing, enforced disappearance, torture, rape and other sexual violence against protesters since the coup and the country's continued ethnic cleansing of Rohingyas since 2012.
Cartoonist Costantini holds exhibit on board Ocean Viking
The Ocean Viking will have on board an exhibition of works by Italian cartoonist and activist Gianluca Costantini, who came up with this idea when the rescue ship of the NGO SOS Mediterranée docked in his city, Ravenna, in Bolognia.
In Portugal, an Afghan music school tries to survive in exile
In the Afghanistan of the Taliban, listening to or playing music is considered a sin. The Afghanistan National Institute of Music has been closed since the hardline Islamists returned to power in Kabul in August 2021. The students and teachers of the school fled the country and found refuge in Portugal. Despite the difficulties of exile, they hope to revive their school and thus preserve the Afghan musical heritage.
Fashion against war: A Syrian refugee designer finds success in Germany
Before the war broke out in Syria, Mohamad Alhamod was a successful luxury dressmaker in Damascus. After fleeing to Germany, he fought hard to rebuild his career. Today, he owns a small fashion label. He recently presented the latest collection in Berlin. His team at the show included many other refugees.
Italian extremist who shot migrants gets jail poetry slam award
Luca Traini, a far-right sympathizer who was sentenced to 12 years in jail for having seriously wounded six African migrants in a drive-by shooting in 2018, has received an award in a poetry competition in prison.
Italy: Migration festival says 'politics are far from real country'
The seventh edition of an Italian festival on migration issues was recently held in Modena, Ferrara and Carpi. Among the speeches made was one by Erio Castellucci, vice president of the Italian Bishops' Conference (CEI) for northern Italy, who called for brotherhood with those who are forced to flee.
Migrant orchestra launched on Italian island Procida
On Procida, an island near Italy's southern port city of Naples, a musical ensemble has been created made up of migrants from seven nations on three continents. A free concert will be held in the Marina Grande square on November 26.
Maestros: He arrived in Italy on a dinghy, now he debuts as songwriter
Abdul, whose stage name is Maestros, talks about his redemption after a series of atrocities in Africa. He fled violence and poverty in Nigeria and he escaped again from Libya. Then he reached Italy on a boat, where -- he recounts -- "I saw children taken away from their mothers and thrown into the sea to ease the ship's weight."
Italy's Ius Soli citizenship law focus of new documentary shot in Naples
'Un Milione di Italiani (Non Sono Italiani)' is a musical documentary by Maurizio Braucci on Italy's Ius Soli citizenship law. Fatima Mbengue and Sara Vanderwert, Italian daughters of foreign citizens, sing in the film.
Refugees in Lithuania create art to cope with detention
Following the Belarus-EU border crisis, thousands of asylum seekers entered Lithuania. A year later, many still remain in detention with little contact with the outside world. These are stories of several artists who are trying to create connection through their art.