NAFRICA-MASKS reveals collective story still in the making

 ROME -- At the launch of the Napoli2500 celebrations, the City of Naples and the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte have come together to present NAFRICA–MASKS. A joint initiative curated by Simon Njami and produced by Andrea Aragosa for Black Tarantella, this event was realised under the artistic direction of Laura Valente, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, the University of Naples Federico II, L’Orientale University, and the Museum of Civilizations (MUCIV).

 The exhibition opens with a historical section that examines Italian colonial exhibitions and the visual rhetoric that shaped them, from the 1922 Venice Biennale, where so-called “primitive art” was first exhibited, to the large-scale colonial showcases of Naples in 1934 and 1940. Archival materials, photographs, and objects trace how art was manipulated to reinforce racial hierarchies and imperial fantasies. This critical framing underscores its strategic and symbolic ambition to confront the enduring legacies of colonialism and to reveal the mechanisms of dehumanisation and ideological violence embedded within Italian visual culture.

 Reflecting upon themes of memory, identity, and representation, this exhibition presents a blended narrative of what Njami describes as two ‘opposing registers’ which present a critical dialogue between continents and generations. Whilst part of the exhibition engages with the history of colonisation within Italian contemporary art, Njami also invites contemporary artists to provide an opposing dialogue in what he describes as a ‘collective story still in the making”. At present, the collection houses works from twenty-five contemporary artists ranging from sculpture to photography and performance, including installations from Pascale Marthine Tayou, Michèle Magema, Meschac Gaba and Kudzanai Chiurai. 

 NAFRICA–MASKS is conceived as a living, evolving collection which continues to grow as new works, artists and perspectives are integrated, creating fresh opportunities for reflection and debate. As curator Njami explains, “The goal is not to offer a moral or a single interpretation, but to open a space of critical resonance — where art can act as a tool for exorcism and rewriting.”

 This is a sentiment echoed by a major contributor to the collection, the Mayor of Naples, who sees the collection as an opportunity for greater community dialogue and civic responsibility: “This exhibition reminds us that art is not only beauty but also civic consciousness — a tool to understand who we are and to imagine, together, a more just and self-aware society capable of building its future.”

 The exhibition opened on October 15th, 2025, at the Capodimonte Museum in Naples and runs until the January 7^th, 2026. 

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