Catalog Launch & Panel Discussion

Thursday, November 7, 6-8 PM

Join us for an evening celebrating the catalog launch of exhibition Aoko–born away from home with a lecture and reading with author Oliwia Bosomtwe from her book Like the White Man. The Story of Poles and the Others. In her lecture, Oliwia will address the histories of the experiences of the Black minority in Poland and on Polish lands throughout history. The evening will conclude with a panel discussion moderated by curator Klaudia Ofwona Draber with exhibition artists: Oliwia Bosomtwe, Natalia Nakazawa, Coralina Rodriguez Meyer, and Hidemi Takagi.

About the Book:
Like the White Man. The Story of Poles and the Others by Oliwia Bosomtwe (2024)

A Polish woman in her forties travels to Kenya to meet her father’s family for the first time. A Senegalese student arrives in Poland before the Berlin Wall falls and stays. The son of an unknown American marine, born nine months after WWII, immigrates to Chicago only to understand his true identity is Polish. A dark-skinned Polish aristocrat, a schoolmate of Napoleon, fights for Polish independence and dies in the Haitian Revolution. A Black comrade of Thaddeus Kosciuszko remains with Polish aristocrats when his friend sails to America, never to return. Like the White Man by Oliwia Bosomtwe explores the stories of people of African descent who were born in Poland, chose it as their homeland, or visited briefly. This non-fiction work describes what it means to be Black in a predominantly white society, surrounded by stereotypes, fantasies, and imaginations about Blackness. The Ghanaian-descended author reveals the complex history of race relations from the 18th century to today in a country where the Black population remains largely unknown.

In person at EFA Project Space
323 W 39th St, New York, NY 10018
Free and open to the public