Ryan T. Skinner

This project examines the multicultural and racially mixed public culture of “Afro-Swedish” artists. Rooted in Sweden and routed through Africa and its diasporas, Afro-Swedish public culture reflects a growing African presence in Europe, the product of multiple patterns of movement and migration over the past five decades. Through ethnographic inquiry, this study explores understandings and expressions of Afro-Swedish identity in music, dance, theater, and verbal art. The research draws critical attention to the lives and works of artists who perform a sense of community while confronting endemic racism; who celebrate social pluralism against assumptions of cultural difference; and who, in performance, captivate Swedish audiences while resisting perceptions of exoticism and foreignness.