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New film on the Black presence in 1400s Europe PLUS director Q&A and curator of Image of the Black in London GalleriesThis event is organised by Black History Walks and Image of the Black in london Galleries as part of 61 Years Since 1965, the first ever Race Relations Act, and 20 years of the African Odysseys film series (2007) HERE
Part of the Windrush international Caribbean Film Festival (Oct-Nov 2026) HERE
Discover the overlooked presence of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe at a special screening of Fred Kudjo Kuwornu’s acclaimed documentary, We Were Here .
Watch trailer HERE
Through artworks, archival research and conversations with leading scholars, the film challenges long-held assumptions about the Renaissance.It reveals the diverse roles Black people held across Renaissance society, including as courtiers, diplomats, religious figures, merchants and patrons. If the Black faces depicted in these Renaissance masterpieces could speak, what would they tell us?
Following the screening, director Kuwornu will be joined in conversation by art historian, Michael Ohajuru who leads guided tours on Black art in three London galleries.
The discussion will consider how artists represented Black figures, what these artworks reveal about cultural exchange and identity in pre-colonial Europe.
About the film and Fred Kudjo Kuwornu .
W e Were Here – The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe , exhibited at the Central Pavilion of the 60ᵗʰ International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale and in competition for for the 98th Academy Awards® 2026 – Best Documentary Feature. The film 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.
More Info : https://www.wewereherethefilm.com
Fred Kudjo Kuwornu is an Italian-Ghanaian and U.S. multi-hyphenate socially engaged artist, filmmaker, curator and scholar based in New York. His work bridges past and present, the seen and unseen, exploring identity and race through historical remixing of archival materials. Kuwornu's films have been exhibited at the 60ᵗʰ Venice Art Biennale in the Central Pavillion curated by Adriano Pedrosa (2024), museums and international film festivals and in 2025 his most recent feature documentary qualified for Academy Awards For Your Consideration in the Best Documentary Feature category.
In 2025, Kuwornu was awarded the Folger Shakespeare Library Fellowship for his innovative approach to early modern European history through the lens of the African diaspora. He also received the Dan David Prize, the world’s largest history award, in recognition of his career-long contributions to public history and cultural memory through audiovisual
More info: https://www.fredkuwornu.com
Other coming events ww.blackhistorywalks.co.uk HER E
-Harlem in Mayfair Black history Walk
-Image of the Black in Tate Britain and the Wallace Collection
-60 years of Carnival The Jit Samroo story
-Black Liverpool Films and book launch at Bernie Grant Arts Centre
-Black theatreland History walk
-Black history of Comedy plus BFI Southbank 19,000 petition update
-Windrush International Caribbean Film Festival October to November
For more information and to support African Odysseys click HERE
The volunteer-run, African Odysseys film programme screened monthly, popular, anti-racist, Black films with Q&A’s for 18 years at the BFI. It regularly filled the Southbank 450 seater at 2pm on Saturdays when cinemas are typically ‘dead’. The British Film Institute ignored a 19,000 strong petition to keep it HERE .
Refused to answer 8 simple questions. Then cancelled the programme so they could ‘cut costs and promote diversity’ HERE
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Event venue
12 Phillimore Walk,London,W8 7RX,GB, United Kingdom
Tickets
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