To celebrate Black History Month, Dr. Liam Brockey, Professor of History at MSU, invited Fred Kudjo Kuwornu, a film director, to show and discuss his new film, “We Were Here – The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe”. Michigan State University is hosting Kuwornu on February 12 in Wells Hall B115 at 7:00 PM. The film presentation is being co-sponsored by the History Department, the Department of African American and African Studies, the African Studies Center, and the Office for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion.
Fred Kudjo Kuwornu is an Afro-Italian and U.S. multi-hyphenate socially engaged artist, filmmaker and scholar based in New York. His work bridges past and present, exploring identity and race through historical remixing of archival materials. Kuwornu’s films have been exhibited at the 60ᵗʰ Venice Art Biennale (2024), Museum of Moving Image (NY), Library of Congress, and international film festivals.
“We Were Here – The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe”, exhibited in the Central Pavilion directed by Adriano Pedrosa at the 60ᵗʰ International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, sheds light on the overlooked presence of African and Black individuals in Renaissance Europe, highlighting their depiction in masterpieces by some of the era’s most celebrated artists. How did they come to Europe? Why were they portrayed? Were they truly all servants or slaves? If the Black faces portrayed in these Renaissance masterpieces could speak, what would they tell us?
Directed by award-winning filmmaker Fred Kudjo Kuwornu and produced by Do The Right Films, this multilingual documentary takes viewers on an expansive journey through the UK, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, and France, offering a compelling reexamination of European art history and its cultural legacy. Featuring insights from leading scholars in Art History, Black Studies, and History, alongside Black activists and curators, the film provides a rich, layered perspective on a neglected chapter of European history.
We Were Here has already attracted international attention, having been exhibited in the Central Pavilion curated by Adriano Pedrosa at the 60ᵗʰ International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, which attracted 700,000 visitors. The documentary has received critical acclaim for its fresh, thought-provoking exploration of race, art, and identity in the Renaissance.