Film Screening and Conversation: We Were Here: The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe

Monday, October 20, 2025 4:30pm to 6:30pm EDT

Join us in welcoming filmmaker Fred Kuwornu to Bowdoin for a screening of his new documentary, We Were Here: The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe, a film that explores the overlooked African presence in 15th- and 16th-century Europea art. A Q&A session and discussion will follow the screening. Weaving together personal narrative, interviews with curators and scholars, and re-enactments, the film explores the lives and legacies of African and Afro-diasporic artists, audiences, and subjects in the visual and material culture of Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, England, and Brazil.

Sponsored by the Jasper Jacob Stahl Lectureship in the Humanities and the Art History department with support from Africana Studies, English, Cinema Studies, History, Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies.

Bowdoin College is committed to providing an accessible and welcoming environment. Please contact the Events Office (events@bowdoin.edu or 207-725-3433) with any questions regarding the accessibility of this event and/or to request accommodations. Please note: some accommodations require advance notice and may require documentation of a disabling condition.

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