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resistenze e musiche nere a napoli
On June 2nd 2023, music, visual art, and research were blended together in an event that centered the history of Black music in Naples, memories from the African diaspora in the Southern Italian capital, and resistance against racism. The highlight of the event was the multimedia production from which the titled is taken. Twice the First Time is a creation of the African-American rapper/writer/performer Napoleon Maddox, who performed with his band as well as with numerous guest artists. The show is a powerful mix of music and story-telling, inspired by the true story of Millie-Christine McKoy, conjoined twins (and great aunts of Napoleon) who became famous as artists despite being born into slavery in the United States.
The production, which since 2017 has toured numerous venues in the US and in Europe, took a site-specific form with contributions from Neapolitan artists: rappers Thieuf and Sir X, djs King Abou and Dj Sass, the choreographer Hothabanera, VJ Tiziana Salvati, and scenography set by cyop. Additional special guests were students of the Liceo Musicale βMelissa Bassiβ in Scampia, coordinated by their teacher and singer Giovanni Conelli.
The event was the final result of a year of work based on meetings, workshops and collective research, during which participants explored themes and posed questions on issues of race, citizenship and community in Naples. Additional areas of investigation were: meanings and values of Black music, multiple identities and intersectionality, diverse-ability, Pan-Africanism and Afrofuturism. Experiences, memories and new stories were woven together and integrated into the Neapolitan version of the multimedia production.
Twice the First Time. Resistenze e musiche nere a Napoli has been presented at the Scugnizzo Liberato, an independet space created and managed by Neapolitan citizens, and has widely benefited by the participation of the Unity Club in Naples.
"Out of patience", by sir x Samba
video presentation "dove sei, mama africa?", by djarah kan
Screening and conversation with the author. With: Iain Chambers, Annalisa Frisina, Didier Teoule (Castelvolturno suona antirazzista).Β Moderator: Marie MoΓ―seΒ
Dove sei, mama Africa? is a documentary based on audiovisual documents and original interviews that tells the tragic death of Miriam Makeba. The famous South-African singer and activist died in Castel Volturno, a few miles from the city of Naples, in the night between November 8th and 9th 2008. The title of the documentary questions the lack of a stable and permanent memory of the artistic, cultural, and political heritage of the artist. It also focuses on a broader theme of the absence of appropriated recollection of the migrants who lived and died in Italy. Miriam Makebaβs figure and heritage are internationally recognized, therefore it is possible to identify β in her last performance β the multiplicity of people and communities that are constantly neglected in the Italian public discourse.
There is a common thread that connects Miriam Makeba to Italy and to the Neapolitan region. A similar common thread links the plight of African immigrants in Italy to that of South Africans under apartheid, who, in the land they have inhabited for millennia, were treated by European colonizers as if they were immigrants in their own country. Perhaps it was the recognition between these two Africas, hostage to racism and the injustice generated by despicable supremacism, that drove Mama Africa to Castel Volturno. But her journey there is a journey of destiny, made up of small fragments, non-linear narratives and returns, departures and exiles.
Dove sei, mama Africa?Β is the first audio-visual work by writer and performer Djarah Kan. It has been completed as part of the arts-based research project βResearch as Vocality. Tracing the African Presence in Naples,β financed by the Austrian Science Fund βFWFβ and based at the University of Innsbruck.