“Two years ago, the students enrolled in the two-year photography course at ISIA Urbino took part in a series of teaching activities — residences, courses, workshops — on the topic of Italian colonialism.
The aim was to conduct research and reflect on the historical narrative of our colonialism, and on how it left deep marks in the contemporary context.
In line with the identity of the Institute, historically a place where teaching, cultural projects, and social engagement are combined for the purpose of training professionals capable of making sense of the complexity of reality, the group worked on a long-term project starting from an elaborate system of sources and “stimuli” constituted by archives (MUCIV, ICCD, Biblioteca Nazionale among the most important ones), monuments, and communities in the city of Rome. After two years, during which works and research underwent constant review and further study, the projects were definitively formalized and structured in the guise of this book and in an exhibition due to be held at Villa Romana, Florence, in July 2024.
[From the introduction "Balancing Memory", by Alessandro Carrer].