by InTrieste
More than 100 drawings documenting the landscapes, people and daily life of Africa will go on display in Trieste this weekend in a retrospective dedicated to the late Italian artist and illustrator Edoardo Di Muro.
The exhibition, “Africa 1970–2005. Drawings by Edoardo Di Muro. Trieste–Dakar,” will run from Aug. 2 through Sept. 27 in Sala Nathan at Magazzino 26 in the Porto Vecchio district. Organized by the cultural association Viva Comix in partnership with the City of Trieste and supported by the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, the exhibition traces more than three decades of Di Muro’s work across the African continent.
The exhibition opens to the public on Sunday at 11 a.m., followed by live performances by guitarist Adriano Viterbini, producer and bassist Paolo Baldini, and cartoonist and musician Davide Toffolo. Admission is free.
Curated by Paola Bristot and Mimina Di Muro, the artist’s daughter and an anthropologist, the exhibition presents original drawings, lithographs and sketchbooks selected from a body of more than 700 works created between 1970 and 2005. The display is complemented by pieces from Moroso’s M’Afrique furniture collection and an installation incorporating tropical plants.
Born in Cuneo in 1944, Di Muro moved to Africa in the early 1970s after working as a sailor aboard a cargo ship. Rather than traveling briefly through the continent, he settled there for decades, living in several countries including Senegal, Angola, Ethiopia and Côte d’Ivoire. Working primarily with ink and technical pens, he documented markets, villages, forests, wildlife and everyday scenes with highly detailed drawings made directly from observation.
His career also included collaborations with French satirical magazines such as Charlie Hebdo and Pilote, while in Senegal he produced batik textiles and illustrated medical manuals intended for rural communities. Some of his work addressed political issues, including apartheid and anti-colonial movements in southern Africa. During his years in Senegal, then-President Léopold Sédar Senghor acquired a complete set of the artist’s lithographs after visiting one of his exhibitions in Dakar.
The exhibition is organized into three thematic sections. The first explores the historical maritime connections between the ports of Trieste and Dakar through drawings, archival photographs and historical materials. The second focuses on African landscapes, flora and fauna, while the third examines the continent’s social and cultural life through depictions of villages, urban streets and everyday activities.
Architect Giulia Sgrò designed the exhibition layout, which incorporates furniture from Moroso’s M’Afrique collection alongside photographs documenting the production of the pieces in Senegal. Organizers say the installation is intended to highlight the dialogue between African craft skills, contemporary design and Di Muro’s artistic legacy.
Following its presentation in Trieste, the exhibition is scheduled to travel to Dakar.
