A special collection in Europeana, devoted to Migration stories and histories, was launched in the framework of the European Year of Cultural Heritage, and explores how, since the earliest ages, people-on-the-move have shaped society, culture, arts and sciences. In addition to an online platform offering a wide range of curated features – among which, as from October 2019, an extensive virtual exhibition – this Thematic Collection now also hits the road with a showcase tailor-made for Pisa’s Museo della Grafica.
20 portraits – some formal and posed, some casually or inconspicuously snapped – represent equally as many stories of people who left their native country to go settle abroad. That the portrait genre was chosen as a medium for this exhibition is no coincidence: these images give “the migrant” a face and a distinctive voice, reminding us of the fact that migration isn’t an abstract concept but a daily reality.
For many centuries, establishing a new home on foreign ground has been the fate (or the opportunity!) of millions. What they left and gained, what they learned and taught, what they shared, created and inspired is at the core of the Europeana Migration Collection and of this PHOTOCONSORTIUM exhibition.
The opening on the 12th October saw a great happening, including a Europeana Migration collection day, a short conference and bits&drink to celebrate the exhibtion: READ MORE.
In the course of the exhibition period, a series of initiatives and guided tours to the photographs involved different types of audience, such as families and children who participated in creative labs; students with their teachers to learn and discuss about the theme of migration; adults from cultural associations in the Pisa territory; and the laboratories of the Segni fra le Mani project of the University of Pisa, that are dedicated to seniors suffering from Alzheimer and other mental diseases who can find stimulus and enjoyment from the guided interaction with cultural heritage.
As a finissage event, on the 9th November the Museo della Grafica and the University of Pisa, in collaboration with the Interdisciplinary center “Scienze per la Pace”, organized a symposium on the themes of migration and culture, followed by a little concerto as a delightful accompaniment to the evening.
THOUSANDS ARE SAILING
Palazzo Lanfranchi, Lungarno Galilei 9, Pisa
12th October to 11th November 2018
