Exhibition opening: 4 September 2026, 6:00 pm
Centre for Culture, Merano-o
Open Monday–Saturday, 3:30–10:30 pm
As part of PEA – Pedagogy, Ecology and the Arts Conference “praxis”,
at the Centre for Culture in Merano-o TEATRO PRATIKO presents 90 Years of Silence, an exhibition exploring the recovery, reconstruction and reactivation of a lost sound archive from the Horn of Africa.
The exhibition is curated by the Andemta Collective, Gianpaolo Chiriacò (University of Innsbruck) and Valentina Fusari (University of Turin). The two italian curators will be present at the opening on 4 September at 6:00 pm, introducing the exhibition and its research background.
A lost archive, a reconstructed memory
During the years of the Italian occupation of Ethiopia (1936–1941), more than two hundred recordings of traditional music from the Horn of Africa were made by Italian military and media organisations. At the outbreak of the Second World War, the collection was dispersed and, for decades, remained inaccessible as a coherent archive.
90 Years of Silence follows the long and complex process through which these recordings have been traced, digitised, contextualised and brought back into dialogue with the communities, histories and cultural practices from which they originated.
Rather than presenting the recordings simply as historical documents, the exhibition asks what it means to reconstruct, return and reactivate an archive shaped by colonial power. Sounds become a starting point for questioning how cultural heritage is collected, preserved and transmitted, and for reflecting on the relationship between archives, memory, ownership and dignity.
The exhibition adopts a multisensory and participatory approach, bringing together archival materials, sound, historical research and contemporary perspectives. It invites visitors not only to listen to the recordings, but also to consider the histories and power relations embedded in the act of recording itself.
From research to restitution
The exhibition is the outcome of a collaboration between two European research projects: SONIETHIO – Sonic Ethnographies, Italian Colonialism, and Dignity Restitutions, based at the University of Innsbruck, and REDMIX – Unpacking Mixedness for an Inclusive History of the Red Sea, 1800s–2000s, funded by the European Research Council.
The work developed through research, archival reconstruction, digitisation, fieldwork and collective listening, connecting academic investigation with artistic and community-based practices. In this process, the archive is not treated as a closed repository of the past, but as a living resource capable of generating new conversations about colonial histories, cultural heritage and the possibility of restitution.
The exhibition has travelled between different contexts, including Crema and Addis Ababa, bringing together research and public engagement across Italy and Ethiopia. Its development is rooted in the encounter between archival research and contemporary cultural practices, and in the conviction that listening can become a form of historical and social inquiry.
90 Years of Silence and PEA “praxis”
The presentation in Merano-o takes place in conjunction with the fourth edition of PEA – Pedagogy, Ecology and the Arts, held from 10 to 12 September 2026 at the Academy of Italian-German Studies and the Centre for Culture. The theme of this year's conference is “praxis”: situated, reflective and transformative practice, and the relationship between knowledge and action.
The exhibition offers a particularly meaningful encounter with this theme. It is itself an example of research moving into practice: an archival and scholarly investigation becomes an embodied, collective and public experience of listening, questioning and reinterpreting the past.
The PEA Conference
At the exhibition opening, the organisers will also introduce the PEA 2026 conference programme, including its keynote speakers, invited speakers and thematic sessions.
PEA 2026 brings together researchers, educators, artists and practitioners from different disciplinary and cultural backgrounds to explore pedagogy, ecology and the arts through the lens of praxis. The conference will take place in English, German and Italian and will be hosted across the Academy of Italian-German Studies and the Centre for Culture in Merano-o.
Guided tour
10 September 2026, 6:30 pm
Centre for Culture, Merano-o
A guided tour of 90 Years of Silence will be led by curator Gianpaolo Chiriacò, offering an opportunity to explore the exhibition in greater depth and to discuss the history of the sound archive, the research process and the questions of colonial memory, cultural heritage and restitution that underpin the project.
Exhibition: 4 - 19 September 2026
Opening: 4 September 2026, 6:00 pm
Opening hours: Monday–Saturday, 3:30–10:30 pm
Venue: Centre for Culture, Meran-o
Curators:
Gianpaolo Chiriacò, University of Innsbruck
Valentina Fusari, University of Turin
Andemta Collective
