Collaborative Approaches to Uncovering the Afterlife of the Italian Empire

At a time when authoritarian movements are gaining in popularity and when openly post-fascist parties have achieved a role in government, there is an urgent need to examine both the long-term effects of fascism and the global impact that it exerted through the scale of its pursuit of expansionist goals.

The work of artists, curators, educators, writers, and researchers has examined how the afterlife of the Italian empire can be uncovered and its enduring effects on contemporary Italian culture exposed to critical examination and debate. The work is essential in promoting sustained and inclusive societal debate, in developing educational resources, and in ensuring that contemporary challenges are addressed with a knowledge of the temporalities that continue to affect collective thought, imaginaries, and practice.

The aim of the workshop is to discuss the nature and scope of the work that is being pursued across different areas of creative and critical endeavour; to explore the connections that exist between areas of cultural production; and to explore how new collaborative initiatives can be developed.

Each session of the workshop is designed to address a specific area of creative/critical practice, while the event as a whole aims to support a transmedial approach to the legacies of Italian colonialism. In each session, the speakers will give a short presentation on their work and its reception which will serve as a means of promoting discussion.

The workshop is part of the AHRC project, Uncovering the Afterlife of the Italian Empire and the British Academy project, DecolonItaly: Challenging Colonial Legacies in Contemporary Italian Culture. It is supported by the Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies and the School of Advanced Study.

Wednesday 21st May:

13:00 Lunch

14:00 - 15:30
1.  Collaborative projects on the legacies of Empire
Chair: Charles Burdett (SAS) and Gianmarco Mancosu (SAS)

This session will discuss some of the ways in which creative practitioners, curators, researchers and writers can collaborate to bring the legacies of colonialism to public consciousness. Giulia Grechi and Viviana Gravano will talk about the work that they are pursuing on mediating memories of the past with artists and curators and the effects that this work is exerting. They will speak about the preparation of the video essay, Uncovering the afterlife of the Italian Empire, which will then be shown.

Giulia Grechi (Accademia di Belle Arti, Naples) and Viviana Gravano (Accademia di Belle Arti, Florence)
Developing collaborative practice on the legacies of colonialism

16:00 - 17:30
2.  Artistic Installations and Creative Practice
Chair: Barbara Spadaro (Liverpool)

This session explores how art, curation, and creative practices open spaces for critical reflection and awareness around heritage and collective memory. Focussing on the entanglement of Libyan and Italian memories, Najlaa El Ageli, Malak El Ghuel, and Alessandra Ferrini will discuss their creative practice, their work with different communities, and its transnational reception.

Najlaa El Ageli (curator and architect, Noon Arts)
Curatorial practice and public consciousness

Malak El Ghuel (art designer and therapist)
Material culture, heritage, and critical awareness

Alessandra Ferrini (visual artist and researcher).
The critical and visual re-elaboration of colonial legacies in Italy

17:30 - 19:00
Wine reception

Thursday 22nd May

9.30 - 11.00
3.  Materialities, Objects and Places
Chair: Emma Bond (Oxford)

This session examines the material and spatial dimensions of colonial memory, focusing on how objects, collections, and places shape and mediate historical narratives transnationally. The dialogue between scholarly research and artistic practice will be at the core of the discussion in which speakers will explore museum collections and their transnational contexts, as well as representations of Libyan history and memory through creative media. By interrogating the material traces of the past and their reinterpretation in the present, the session aims to shed light on the role of tangible and intangible colonial heritage in shaping understanding of shared identities.

Beatrice Falcucci (Pompeu Fabra Barcelona)
Working on museum collections in Italy and beyond.

Kalifa Abo Khraisse (director, writer and actor)
Working on representations of Libyan history and memory.

11.30 - 13.00
4.  Counter-Histories
Chair: Gianmarco Mancosu (SAS) and Emanuele Ertola (Siena)

This session explores recent studies that critically reassess Italian colonialism, dismantling its myths and self-absolving narratives. The speakers will examine the construction and contemporary reception of Italy’s colonial history, addressing both the politics of institutional memory and the histories and voices of resistance to colonial oppression. By presenting alternative perspectives, the discussion illuminates the enduring impact of colonial legacies. This panel underscores the necessity of rethinking established narratives to gain a deeper understanding of the complexities of Italy’s colonial past and its ongoing significance.

Valeria Deplano (Cagliari) and Alessandro Pes (Cagliari)
Working on a history of Italian colonialism and its reception

Uoldelul Chelati Dirar (Macerata)
Histories of resistance to colonialism

Lunch 13.00-14.00

14.00 - 15.30
5.  Conversation with Writers
Chair: Charles Burdett (SAS)

This session will be centred on the work that Vittorio Longhi, Francesca Melandri, and Saba Anglana have produced to promote greater awareness of the intergenerational legacies of the Italian presence in Africa. It will explore the different perspectives and approaches to colonialism that are evident in each writer’s work. Vittorio Longhi will speak about the writing and reception of Il colore del nome (2021), Francesca Melandri about Sangue giusto (2017), and Saba Anglana about La signora meraviglia (2024). Each writer will speak about the creative process, about public responses to their work, and the role that writing serves in the contemporary context.

Vittorio Longhi (journalist and writer)
Non-fictional writing on colonial legacies and post-colonial citizenship

Francesca Melandri (writer, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker )
Literature and documentary film on the legacies of colonialism

Saba Anglana (writer, musician and performer)
Literature and intergenerational memory

Download programme pdf

Image: Alessandra Ferrini, Gaddafi in Rome: Anatomy of a Friendship, 2024, video still.