NPR

Painting Their Old Life Helps Them Build A New Life In Italy

Amid an influx of African migrants to Italy, a project called 'Make Art Not Walls' is helping them assimilate — and get in touch with their inner artist.
Benjamin Raphael of Nigeria (left) is a salesman who had never picked up a paint brush before he found asylum in Italy.

African asylum seekers in Italy are becoming artists — and it's not only helping them cope with the trauma they've been through but also introducing their stories to the local community.

In Europe's migration crisis, Italy is ground zero. More than 500,000 migrants have arrived, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, since 2014.

Despite a smaller flow this summer, anti-migrant sentiment is growing.

But in the Umbrian town of Trevi, population 8,372 as of January 1, a project called is helping asylum seekers assimilate.

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR2 min read
Police Enter UCLA Anti-war Encampment; Arizona Repeals Civil War-era Abortion Ban
Law enforcement officers have moved into a pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA. Arizona lawmakers voted to repeal a Civil War-era abortion ban.
NPR3 min readAmerican Government
A Michigan Grassroots Effort Is Raising Reparations, While The Government Lags
The year 2020 was a turning point for Lansing, Michigan resident Willye Bryan. Between the racial reckoning following the murder of George Floyd and the health disparities that hit the African American community during the pandemic, she knew it was t
NPR4 min read
A Poet Searches For Answers About The Short Life Of A Writer In 'Traces Of Enayat'
Poet Iman Mersal's book is a memoir of her search for knowledge about the writer Enayat al-Zayyat; it's a slow, idiosyncratic journey through a layered, changing Cairo — and through her own mind.

Related Books & Audiobooks