Mohamed Keita, a 32-year-old Ivorian who migrated to Italy in 2010, offers a unique view of Italy's capital Rome, also known as the Eternal City, in his photo exhibit entitled 'Porto Roma' (Rome port).

The show, curated by Carmen Pilotto, can be visited free of charge at the Mattatoio (a former abattoir that now plays host to cultural events and markets in Rome's working class, but now trendy, Testaccio district) until July 27.

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A personal and artistic journey

"There are reasons behind the show's title," Keita told ANSA. "The port is a place of arrival as well as of departure. These images, in addition, have been shot and exhibited in Rome, but they could also be displayed somewhere else in the future."

The photographer, who is 32 today, reached Italy via Malta three years after leaving his country aged 14 because he was "forced to do so," crossing countries including Guinea, Libya and Mali.

In 2017, Keita opened up a workshop in Mali's capital Bamako, which was followed by another one in 2022 in Rome's multiethnic district of Esquilino, not far from the central station Termini.

Keita said his path included "multiple threads. It is necessary to accept what life offers us through different routes, because life is made of changes. I had to leave my dear ones, undertaking journeys to live somewhere else, getting acquainted with new contexts of things and people. Curiosity for photography stemmed from these experiences," said Keita, who owes his profession to a scholarship.

He has been making a living as a photographer for the past six-seven years, after first taking work as a porter.

"When I left the Ivory Coast I didn't know I would be working as a photographer, I didn't even like photography that much. I have encountered goodness and evil along my journey, always together, but it is necessary to be able to transform difficulties and suffering into something positive," he continued.

"Understanding how a camera works doesn't make you a photographer. The technical aspect helps you tell a story well, but life and what we experience really provide a different perspective, making us look at the past and present and the way we act in a different way."

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Team work and a bridge to others

Sooner or later, Keita wants to work on a photo shoot in his native city, which he did not want to identify, only saying it is located in a region in the Ivory Coast bordering with Liberia and Guinea.

He stressed that he believes team work is key to a photo exhibit, which involves several people. He said exchanging daily events and artistic experiences with others is fundamental for a photographer.

"Helping others means helping ourselves because we are part of a chain. The show talks about how I exist in Rome: how I see it while I walk, the people that are present every day as well as the monuments that represent it, that tell us who was here before me and shaped the city I know right now, just like what we do today will be key for the city tomorrow and for those who will come after us."

Keita is a strong believer in creating bridges between people over time: "Life isn't forever and leaving a trace can be interesting for someone else. I therefore unite different elements to create images and paths benefiting other people.What I do is not just for me but also for others, just like others did before me, and this helps me delve deeper," he concluded.