Manifesta purposely strives to keep its distance from what are often seen as the dominant centres of artistic production, instead seeking fresh and fertile terrain for the mapping of a new cultural topography.

Toyin Ojih Odutola, NG

Scenes of Exchange is a series of charcoal and pastel drawings describing the presence of West Africa in Italy through episodes of daily life. These intimate scenes highlight and give value to seemingly hidden associations, primarily based on trade, objects, ideas, and travellers through connections that foster exchange, making a tribute to Palermo’s cosmopolitan history. Scenes of Exchange offers public and private perspectives through portraits that reveal to us the great potential that can discovered by observing those who are ordinarily misunderstood and ignored.