NOVEMBER 21st, 4 pm – 5 pm CET
Live su photovoguefestival.vogue.it
In the collective imagination, the black body is often perceived as “aggressive”. If we then think about the female body, its portrayal immediately becomes charged with metaphors of a sexual nature. The residue of a colonial legacy, Italian racism is radically different from America’s and is profoundly influenced by the country’s past and its contradictory relationship with Africa. Igiaba Scego, an Italian writer with Somali origins, and Esther Elisha, an Italo-Beninese actress, and Alessia Glaviano, Artistic Director of PVF, discuss the representation of the black body in Italy between stereotypes, empowerment and generational changes.
Talk in Italian
BIOGRAPHIES
Igiaba Scego
Igiaba Scego, born in Rome in 1974 to a family of Somali origins, is a writer and freelance scholar. She holds a PhD in education (on postcolonial subjects) and has done extensive academic work in Italy and around the world. Among her books are a YA novel, La nomade che amava Alfred Hitchcock (Sinnos), and the novels Rhoda (Sinnos) and Oltre Babilonia (Donzelli) pubblished in english by Two Lines. Her memoir La mia casa è dove sono (Rizzoli) won Italy’s Mondello Prize in 2011. She has also written the nonfiction title Al Roma Negata. Percorsi postcoloniali nella città (Ediesse) in collaboration with the photographer Rino Bianchi, a book that treats a broad range of subjects in the history of Italian colonialism. She is a contributor to the magazine Internazionale and the newspaper Avvenire. Her latest novel, Adua (Giunti), a portrait of a woman seeking herself in a long journey from Somalia to Italy, was published in English by New Vessel Press (us). Jacaranda (UK), Nos (Brasil) and others. Her new novel La Linea del Colore (Bompiani) is planned for 2021 by Other Press in Us.
Esther Elisha
Esther Elisha is an Italian-Beninese actress. On the silver screen, she is best known for her roles in Là-Bas: A Criminal Education by Guido Lombardi, the 2011 winner of the Luigi De Laurentiis Award for a Debut Film in Venice; Neve by Stefano Incerti and Nottetempo by Francesco Prisco. On the TV front, she starred in Tutto può Succedere, the remake of the American series Parenthood while her theatre work includes Lindsay-Abaire’s play Good People directed by Roberto Andò. She is a contemporary art performer and made her directorial debut with the Always Better video by the indie duo 2StoryCabin.
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Alessia Glaviano
Alessia Glaviano is the Brand Visual Director of Vogue Italia and Director of the Photo Vogue Festival. Glaviano is a leading figure in the panorama of international photographic criticism. Besides curating a series of interviews with the Masters of photography for Vogue Italia’s website and instagram, which have acquired enormous popularity among the community of people interested in photography and which are also broadcast on Sky Arte channel, in 2011 Glaviano launched Photo Vogue, an innovative platform on which users can share their own photographs knowing they can rely on the curatorial supervision of professional photo editors.
At a time when photography was already ubiquitous online, Alessia felt that what was missing was a curated platform dedicated to it.
Conceived as a community with a strong sense of belonging, as of today, Photo Vogue counts over 230,000 photographers, from amateurs to professionals, hailing from all over the world, with a shared passion for photography and the desire to help each other and grow together. Anyone can register and upload images of all genres, from portraiture to reportage, fashion and street photography.
Curating a pool of incredible image-makers from all around the world, Photo Vogue is a great example of diversity behind the camera.
Many of Photo Vogue photographers have grown to become some of the most interesting voices in contemporary photography, who now regularly produce editorials and branded content for the most prestigious international magazines. The mission of Photo Vogue has always been to champion talent and contribute to shaping a richer and more diverse industry. In order to have a physical and virtual space in time to bring the community together and further the conversation around the promotion of creativity, diversity and justice in image-making, in 2016 Milan hosted the first edition of the Photo Vogue Festival. The event marked the first conscious fashion photography festival dedicated to the shared ground between Ethics and Aesthetics, bound to an influential fashion publication, and engaging the whole city of Milan with talks, exhibitions and photography-related initiatives. The 4 editions of the festival in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 were always met with critical and public success.
Besides the editorial activity, Alessia holds lectures and conferences on a regular basis. Some of the institutes and universities she was invited as guest lecturer include: IED, Bocconi University and the Milan Polytechnic.
Glaviano was invited to participate as jury member in numerous internationally acclaimed photography contests including the World Press Photo and the Festival International de Mode et de Photographie à Hyères; and has participated in several portfolio review sessions, including the “New York Times Portfolio Reviews”.
