Africa e Mediterraneo

Africa e Mediterraneo is an Italian non-profit cultural organisation and the publisher of a biannual journal of the same name, dedicated to the culture and society of African countries and to international migration, especially between Africa and Europe. Based in Sasso Marconi, in the province of Bologna, the journal has been published since 1992 and presents dossiers, essays and articles on the economy, history, culture and society of the African continent. It is produced by an editorial committee and supported by an international scientific committee. Since 1997, a working group gathered around the journal began organising communication, education and research projects to deepen knowledge of the social and cultural development of contemporary Africa and to contribute to coexistence among people of different origins brought to Europe by migration. The organisation was formally established in the early 2000s as an international cooperation association focused on development education, with the aim of fostering mutual intercultural knowledge, particularly between Italy and Africa, through the journal as well as through events, conferences, teacher training courses and socio-cultural cooperation projects. Africa e Mediterraneo has played a pioneering role in the study and promotion of African cultural expression and production, both in Italy and abroad. It created the first pan-African contemporary art exhibition taking a critical approach (Transafricana, Bologna, 2000); it brought to Italy the major exhibition L'Afrique par elle-même (Bologna, 2001), resulting from the primary systematic research on African photography produced by Revue Noire; and it conducted the first research study, documented in an exhibition and catalogue, on comics from all over Africa with the project Matite Africane (Bologna, 2001). Since 2002 it has promoted the Premio Africa e Mediterraneo for the best unpublished comic by an African author, the only prize dedicated to authors from all over Africa. Its promotional work on comics has led to a unique collection of original comic strip sketches and to exhibitions in various venues. In collaboration with the Cooperativa Lai-momo, Africa e Mediterraneo organises artistic events aimed at promoting African artists in Europe. The journal's editorial line analyses and explores the creative, artistic and literary production of contemporary Africa, the social and cultural issues of the continent's different regions, and the social and cultural changes brought by migration and global interdependence. Applying a transdisciplinary and multilingual approach, each issue offers a monographic dossier followed by thematic sections with essays and articles on literature, history, art, cinema and music of Africa, as well as contributions on intercultural experiences, cooperation, development education and migration phenomena. Regular columns include reviews of books and films, art exhibitions, events and conferences in Italy and Africa. According to Thomas Boutoux and Cédric Vincent, the journal sits halfway between scholarly social-science journals and cultural and artistic magazines, and is one of the rare European journals specialising in contemporary production in literature, music, theatre, cinema and art from Africa. Initially characterised by articles particularly on anthropology, it later shifted towards cultural studies texts.

Africa e Mediterraneo began in 1992 as a biannual journal presenting dossiers and essays on themes related to the culture and society of African countries and to international migration, especially between Africa and Europe. It is based in Sasso Marconi, in the province of Bologna, Italy. The journal is produced by an editorial committee and supported by an international scientific committee. Since 1997, a working group gathered around the journal began organising communication, education and research projects in order to learn more about the social and cultural development of contemporary Africa and to contribute to coexistence among people of different origins brought to Europe by migration. Promotional and exhibition projects, research, and lectures in schools and with the public were among the initiatives carried out, working both in broad European partnerships and in small territories. The organisation was made official in the early 2000s. From 2003, Africa e Mediterraneo has also been an international cooperation association dealing essentially with development education, aiming to foster mutual intercultural knowledge, particularly between Italy and Africa, through the journal as well as through the organisation of events, conferences, teacher training courses and socio-cultural cooperation projects. Africa e Mediterraneo has played a pioneering role in the study and promotion of African cultural expression and production, within Italy as well as outside it. It created the first pan-African contemporary art exhibition taking a critical approach (Transafricana in 2000 in Bologna); it brought a major exhibition to Italy, L'Afrique par elle-même (Bologna 2001), the result of the primary systematic research on African photography produced by Revue Noire; and it conducted the first research study, documented in an exhibition and catalogue, on comics from all over Africa with the project Matite Africane (Bologna 2001). Since 2002 the organisation has promoted the Premio Africa e Mediterraneo for the best unpublished comic by an African author, the only prize dedicated to authors from all over Africa. In addition, the promotional work of the comics, thanks to which Africa e Mediterraneo has acquired a unique collection of original comic strip sketches, has led it to put on exhibitions in various venues. In collaboration with the Cooperativa Lai-momo, Africa e Mediterraneo organises artistic events aimed at promoting African artists in Europe. The journal's content focuses on analysing and deepening the creative, artistic and literary production of contemporary Africa, the social and cultural issues of the continent's different areas, and the social and cultural changes brought by migration and global interdependence. Applying a transdisciplinary and multilingual approach, the journal addresses selected themes through contributions from various areas of humanistic research. Each issue offers a monographic dossier followed by thematic sections with essays and articles on literature, history, art, cinema and music of Africa, as well as contributions dedicated to intercultural experiences, cooperation, development education and migration phenomena. Columns contain reviews of books and films, art exhibitions, events and conferences in Italy and Africa. According to Thomas Boutoux and Cédric Vincent, the journal sits halfway between scholarly social-science journals and cultural and artistic magazines and is one of the rare European journals specialising in contemporary production in literature, music, theatre, cinema and art from Africa. Initially characterised by articles particularly on anthropology, it later shifted towards cultural studies texts.

• 2003

  Africa e Mediterraneo becomes an international cooperation association focused on development education.

• 2002

  Premio Africa e Mediterraneo for the best unpublished comic by an African author established.

• 2001

  L'Afrique par elle-même exhibition brought to Bologna; Matite Africane project on African comics launched.

• 2000

  Transafricana, the first pan-African contemporary art exhibition taking a critical approach, held in Bologna.

• 1997

  A working group around the journal begins organising communication, education and research projects.

• 1992

  Africa e Mediterraneo journal founded as a biannual publication.

A pioneering Italian non-profit cultural organisation and journal bridging Europe and Africa through intercultural dialogue, contemporary African arts and development education.

• Africa e Mediterraneo journal

  Biannual journal with monographic dossiers and thematic sections on African culture, society, arts and migration.

• Premio Africa e Mediterraneo

  Prize for the best unpublished comic by an African author, the only one dedicated to authors from all over Africa.

• Transafricana exhibition

  First pan-African contemporary art exhibition taking a critical approach, Bologna 2000.

• Matite Africane

  First research study on comics from all over Africa, documented in an exhibition and catalogue, Bologna 2001.

1. 1Africa e Mediterraneo - official websiteafricaemediterraneo.it
2. 2Our story - Africa e Mediterraneoafricaemediterraneo.it
3. 3Africa e Mediterraneo - Wikidatawikidata.org
4. 4Africa e Mediterraneo - Wikipedia (Italian)it.wikipedia.org