A free screening and discussion exploring the overlooked presence of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe and the stories hidden within some of the period’s most celebrated works of art.
We Were Here: The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe examines how African and Black people lived, travelled and worked across Europe during the Renaissance.
Through paintings and other surviving historical evidence, the documentary asks important questions about the Black figures depicted in Renaissance art. How did they come to Europe? Why were they portrayed? Were they all servants or enslaved, as they have frequently been described? What might they tell us if their voices had been recorded?
Following the screening, director Fred Kudjo Kuwornu will join Dr Rowan Tomlinson from the University of Bristol’s School of Modern Languages for a discussion chaired by Dr José Lingna Nafafé of the Department of Hispanic, Portuguese and Latin American Studies.
Kuwornu is an Italian-Ghanaian filmmaker, artist, curator and scholar based in New York. His work combines archival material with contemporary storytelling to explore race, identity, history and the African diaspora.
The film was exhibited in the Central Pavilion of the 60th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale. It also qualified for consideration in the Best Documentary Feature category of the 98th Academy Awards.
In 2025, Kuwornu received a Folger Shakespeare Library Fellowship for his approach to early modern European history through the experiences of the African diaspora. He was also awarded the Dan David Prize in recognition of his contribution to public history and cultural memory.
The event is jointly organised by the University of Bristol’s Centre for Black Humanities and School of Modern Languages.
Admission is free, but advance booking is required.
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