Forty years of conflicts around the world covered from the frontlines, touching the despair of the last. This is the most intimate essence of “Bearing Witness”, the photo exhibition of Fausto Biloslavo, a veteran among war reporters. Four decades of conflicts starting from Lebanon in 1982 getting to the Africa of post-colonialism, from the crossroads of Asia to the Middle East, turning back to Europe with the conflicts in the Balkans and Ukraine.
“We too are the eyes of war. Journalists, photographers, video makers fatally attracted to any conflicts. We can’t stay away from it, because this is not just a profession, but our passion and somehow also our way of living life”, Biloslavo explains. He dedicates the exhibition to his friend Almerigo Grilz, the “older brother in arms” who died on May 19, 1987 while he was reporting from the frontlines of the civil war in Mozambique.
The over forty pics on display, including some by Francesco Semprini, war correspondent who has lived in New York for over twenty years covering the United States and the United Nations, retrace the last forty years of history divided by the turning point of September 11th, 2001. “I saw the terroristic attacks with my own eyes – Semprini recalls -, and as a reporter I told how those reshaped the New Century, with the war on terrorism, Arab Springs and the Caliphate”.
“Bearing Witness” will be on air at the Italian Cultural Institute, directed by Professor Fabio Finotti, from May 25th to June 23rd with a multimedia exhibition which, in addition to the Biloslavo and Semprini photos, will see the projection of videos on the missions by the two reporters. The books of the authors will also be displayed, with Biloslavo’s “Ucraina nell’inferno dell’ultima guerra in Europa” by Biloslavo and “Twenty il nuovo secolo americano” by Semprini, available for sale. “We are proud to host at the Italian Cultural Institute in NY the longstanding works of these courageous reporters, who testified to the tragedy of war by putting themselves on the frontline”, ICC Director Finotti explains.
The opening ceremony of the exhibition will be held on Thursday May 25th from 6 pm to 8 pm at the Italian Cultural Institute of New York at 686 Park Avenue. To participate please RSVP to this email.
Istituto Italiano di Cultura di New York | 686 Park Avenue New York, NY 10065 – USA Tel: +1 212-879-4242 Sito web: https://iicnewyork.esteri.it | Email: ti.iretse@kroywencii
