Theme Talk

A sea that reflects the world

With Alessandro Vanoli (live from Bologna) and Roger M. Buergel
6 Sep 2020 | Johann Jacobs Museum | EN

Not only do migration and migratory flows have a long history in the Mediterranean region – they also form the starting point for the myth of «Europa». Considering the crisis of the current European refugee policy, we take a look back: at powers and historical forces that «smell of salt», as the Bible put it.

Roger M. Buergel speaks to Alessandro Vanoli, a historian and writer who has researched medieval ties between Islam and Christianity in Spain and Sicily. After years of teaching at universities in Italy, South- and North America, Vanoli has devoted himself exclusively to writing and curating. His most recent exhibition was «Drop by Drop Life Falls from the Sky. Water, Islam and Art» at Museo d’Arte Orientale, Turin, 2019.

Artist Talk on the occasion of the exhibition A Ship Will Not Come.

Title Image: From an atlas of the Arab cartographer and geographer El Idrisi (1100-1165/66)