“Born after ‘89”
In the footsteps of a young generation

We are now marking the thirtieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. How did young people in Italy and Germany experience the time after this event? The exhibition “Born after ‘89”, which opens on 8 November at the Goethe-Institut in Rome, answers this question with photojournalistic works.

Europe has changed a great deal since the fall of the Berlin Wall with freedom of travel, new EU members and a common currency. But what feelings do the young generation, born after ‘89, associate with the fall of the wall? How do they experience the change in Europe and how do they envision “their” Europe?

The Goethe-Institut Italy commissioned the photographer Ignacio Maria Coccia and the Italian journalist Matteo Tacconi to speak with about twenty German and Italian students and young professionals under the age of 30. They shed light on the fears, hopes and thoughts of these people.

Faces and ideas

Their search led the pair to four locations: the former West German capital of Bonn, the East German city of Dresden, the Italian border town of Trieste and the port city of Bari.

The faces and ideas of the young generation are now gathered in the exhibition “Born after ‘89” which opens in Rome on 8 November 2019. It presents their portraits, photographed by Ignacio Coccia at locations they chose including university courtyards, bars, old town alleys, theatres, abandoned factories and museums. The photos are accompanied by statements compiled by Matteo Tacconi. The exhibition will be shown in nine other Italian cities, including Palermo, Florence, Livorno and Venice, until the end of 2019.