Migrant Art: An inclusive circle among people of different cultures

Arte Migrante is a community-based organization hosted by the Albero di Cirene Association. It was founded on October 17, 2012, in Bologna.

I created it together with friends who shared the same ideals and dreams: to make the world a fairer and more humane place through the invaluable tools of art, music, dance, and poetry — precious means of building friendship and brotherhood.

Arte Migrante is active in 15 Italian cities and also in Grimstad, Norway. Now, thanks to the Comboni Missionaries — Filippo, Daniele, Daniel, and Simone — and the Black and White association, it is also present in the Castel Volturno area, striving there too to create, through art and shared experiences, an opportunity for people of different cultures and social backgrounds to come together.

A great many people attended the evening, especially a wonderful group of young Bangladeshi, Egyptian, and Senegalese guests from a local Extraordinary Reception Centre for Asylum Seekers (CAS in Italian). The young people truly enjoyed themselves and felt fully part of the initiative; for them, it was a precious moment of togetherness.

For all of us who took part, it was a meaningful moment in which prejudice and racism were set aside, leaving only dialogue, friendship, sharing, and the joy of being together — Bangladeshi, Togolese, Egyptian, Senegalese, and Italian music and dances, as well as group chants and theatre games.

It was a truly enriching evening, reflecting the face of an inclusive and humane Italy that tears down walls and builds bridges — an Italy that can be a beacon of Peace, Welcome, and Love.

Tommaso Carturan – Founder of Arte Migrante