Artist Francesco Arese Visconti explores the complex notion of Italian migratory identity in Switzerland today.
When Italians started to migrate to Switzerland after the end of World War II, they were the largest community of migrants in the Swiss Confederation. They largely contributed to the prosperity of Switzerland, but always as external help and hence struggled to integrate into Swiss society. However, by the end of the 1970s, Switzerland began to change this unequal relationship and Italians had the possibility to become part of the Swiss community. After a period of deceleration, at the beginning of the 21st century, Italians started again to heavily migrate to the Swiss Confederation.
According to the Office Federal de la Statistique, still in 2021 Italians were the largest group of migrants in Switzerland. This phenomenon has, of course, an impact on different levels of Swiss society. The new diaspora is different in many aspects from the migration of the 1960s and 1970s. How can an image capture a complex, ineffable, and unrepresentable notion of modern Italian cultural identity? Furthermore, how can an image represent the cultural identity of a group of people whose lives have been irrevocably altered by the experience of physically moving away from their homeland and resetting in a terra incognita?
The photographs in this exhibition attempt to render visible the complex notion of this new migratory identity – of identity in flux which is different from the common understanding of migration. The message of this work is that there is great value in telling the stories of these migrants, which are often underestimated.
Opening times
The exhibition will launch with a private view on 12 January 2023 from 5.30pm, and will continue through to 22 January 2023.
General opening times: 10am–6pm daily.
For any queries about the exhibition, please contact Aleks Lewczuk: [email protected].
About the artist
Francesco Arese Visconti (b. 1971) is an experienced and published photographer. He is the Head of the Media Communications department and Deputy Academic Director at Webster University Geneva. As a member of the research faculty at Webster, Arese Visconti focuses his projects on the migration processes in Switzerland and in Italy. In 2012, he published the book New World – Stories of African Immigration and Integration in Switzerland and, in 2015, he completed two projects on the Italian-Chinese community in Prato (Italy). Starting from 2015, Francesco has investigated the 21st century Italian diaspora in Switzerland.
Arese Visconti is a member of the HOMELandS Research Group and of the Union Suisse des Photographes Professionnels.
About the gallery
Dynamic, challenging and relevant, London Gallery West is a contemporary exhibition space based at the heart of our Harrow Campus.
The gallery showcases the media, art and design work of our current students and alumni, and plays host to renowned local, national and international artists. It forms a focal point for the campus and is an inspirational destination for students, staff, and the wider public.
Collaborations with high-profile galleries and local arts groups ensure the gallery plays a key role within the art community and beyond.
