Prehistory? Stories from the Anthropocene
26.10.22 – in progress
Palace of Sciences (2nd floor)
In the new display of the Museum of Civilizations’ Prehistoric collections, Prehistory? Stories from the Anthropocene questions the very definition of "prehistory", a "history" that it asserts is made up of material testimonies that collectively evidence complex systems of thought, cultural inventions, as well as economic, political and social organization.
The selection of objects on display - including the Neanderthal Guattari 1 skull from Circeo, the three "Venuses" from the sites of Savignano, Lake Trasimeno and La Marmotta, the pirogues recovered from the bottom of Lake Bracciano along with hundreds of finds from the Neolithic village of La Marmotta, and the Fibula Prenestina - tell a story of the Anthropocene, i.e., the age spanning millennia where humans have co-inhabited with other living species. The section ends with the first chapter of the imaginative omination, designed by the artist and graphic designer Goda Budvytytė and the nanotechnology scholar Laura Tripaldi who imagine potential evolutionary developments, and thus make us aware, responsible participants in the creation of the new story yet to come. This section also features the interventions of two contemporary artists: the Lebanese artist Ali Cherri, recent winner of the Silver Lion at the Venice Biennale, whose film The Digger was acquired by the Museum of Civilizations, and the artist and anthropologist Elizabeth A. Povinelli, member of the Australian indigenous collective Karrabing Film & Art Collective, who intervened on the walls of the exhibition path to reflect on the concept of "prehistory", re-interpreted as continuous "sedimentation".
The New Methodological Entrances
26.10.22 – in progress
Palace of Sciences (entrance)
Palace of Folk Arts and Traditions (entrance)
Two new symmetrical entrances of the Museum of Civilizations are to be inaugurated: one, that is already operational in the Palace of Sciences and the second, the entrance to the Palace of Folk Arts and Traditions, is reopened following the restoration of the ground floor of the building. Both entrances have been reconfigured as a historical and critical introduction to the museum, a story of the institution over time in its different incarnations, to answer questions such as: "What kind of museum am I visiting?", or "Can an anthropological museum be a contemporary museum?”, for example.
The entrances examine the classification systems and research tools inherited by various departments of the museum to explore the relationship between the museum and the history of the EUR district, and to critically review the methodologies they use through the intervention of contemporary artists such as Gianfranco Baruchello, Rossella Biscotti, Peter Friedl, Pino Musi and Moira Ricci.
The Research Fellowships
26.10.22 – in progress
Palace of Sciences (entrance)
Palace of Folk Arts and Traditions (entrance)
On Wednesday 26 October, the Museum of Civilizations will present the first Research Fellowships that have been entrusted to six artists who will launch long-term programs to develop autonomous research projects. These will focus on the museum's archives and collections, and the multiple themes they pose in terms of contextualization, cataloging, and research methodology, as common reflection aimed at adopting shared practices in the loan, display, and restitution processes.
The six artists of the multi-year Research Fellowship program are Maria Thereza Alves, Sammy Baloji, DAAR - Sandi Hilal & Alessandro Petti, Bruna Esposito, Karrabing Film & Art Collective, Gala Porras-Kim.
Georges Senga
Comment un petit chasseur païen devient Prêtre Catholique
26.10.22 – 05.03.23
Palace of Sciences (1st floor)
This exhibition, curated by Lucrezia Cippitelli, is the first time that the photographs, film, and archival materials sought, produced, and post-produced in Congolese artist Georges Senga’s investigation into the figure of Bonaventure Salumu have been consolidated in one space. Bonaventure Salumu was a so-called "pagan hunter", who between the 1940s and 60s received a Christian education from missionaries in Congo, following which he was ordained to priesthood as a Jesuit, moved to Europe, eventually returning to his native village where he became a husband and father.
Through the narration of an intimate and personal story (the travel of Salamu through Europe, his permanence, his travels, the return to Zaire, today Democratic Republic of Congo), the project explore the pre-colonial and post-colonial relationship between Europe and Africa, starting by the XVI century until the modernity. On the occasion of the exhibition, it’s going to be published a new monographic catalogue.