With the exhibition "Every Life is History", the National Museum of Immigration History in Paris brings together art and artefacts that build a picture of France's diverse modern society, a tapestry woven by immigration.
As France grapples with the topic of immigration in its political chambers, on a cultural level there is a current push to embrace diversity, and put names and stories to faces.
This is the aim of the exhibition "Every Life is History", on display at the National Museum of Immigration History in Paris – to celebrate this collective experience. It brings together 13 contemporary artists from different horizons, each tasked with creating new pieces.
Meanwhile, in parallel, curators have selected 200 items from the museum's permanent collection on the theme of personal stories: a mix of artefacts, testimonials, multimedia pieces, artworks and photographs.
From international journeys taken by choice, to forced exile and economic migration, the exhibition aims to weave a comprehensive historical tapestry.
'The more you know, the less you are afraid'
"The role of this collection is to show that these people are like you and me, in fact," co-curator Elisabeth Jolys-Shimells told RFI.
As director of the museum’s heritage collection, she oversees the gathering of testimonials and documents that pertain to ordinary people and their experiences. These range from telephone cards and letters to a suitcase used as a symbol at a protest, to video interviews with child migrants and the NGOs who help them.
The museum’s role is not to pass judgement or make political statements, but to let the documents speak for themselves. However, by bringing the personal into the mix, Jolys-Shimells says it broadens the scope of stories that are heard, in the hope that empathy will emerge.
"Obviously, it is from a positive perspective in the sense that knowing each other better means living together better," she said. "It's about saying the more you know, the less you are afraid and the less you tend to judge by this fear."
Shared experience
The museum is housed in the Palais de la Porte Dorée – "the palace of the golden gate" – and has had a long and varied history. Built for the 1931 Paris Colonial Exhibition, the elegant, sand-coloured Art Deco structure with its imposing columns was designed by Alfred Janniot.
Museum dedicated to history of immigration in France reopens
Inside, rooms are adorned with giant frescoes depicting France’s colonies and their inhabitants – a testament to another time.
Among the artists taking part in the exhibition are Nge Lay and Aung Ko from Myanmar, who were forced to flee their home when a military junta seized power in a coup in 2021.
African displacements and the search for refuge, in life and art
Both have created interactive spaces which invite museum-goers to share in the artistic experience and create a "home away from home".
Lay’s semi-transparent black, silk tents, suspended from the ceiling, are embroidered with poems in golden silk thread. There are cushions on the floor, encouraging people to sit and take a moment with the artwork and meditate on its meaning.
The name of her work, "Anchoring", refers to the importance of ancient banyan trees in her culture. Their roots latch on wherever they may be, just as migrants try to make new homes for themselves.
History in the making
Aung Ko has created two works for the exhibition, one a temporary shelter in the shape of a traditional Burmese house, built from recycled clothing. He invites the public to add a piece each time they pass by, adding new layers of memories to what thus becomes a collective home.
The other is a giant fresco he is adding to each day, with portraits of passersby. He began with the faces of museum staff and curators and hopes to paint the faces of children and their parents coming to see the exhibition, allowing them to become a part of it.
The museum began its permanent collection in 2005, and in 2008 opened a public donation fund so that people could hand over artefacts or personal objects they felt would augment its archives. Combined with acquired pieces by contemporary artists, the collection is a perpetual work in progress – history in the making.
Constance Rivière, director of the museum, says that in the 20 years since the permanent collection was started, questions of migration have become increasingly central to contemporary creation, regardless of the medium.
The question of climate change and how it has affected the global movement of people is also being addressed more widely by artists, not only in this collection but in other art shows in France and around the world, she said. The theme of this year's Venice Biennale, for example, is "Foreigners Everywhere”.
"What artists teach us is to what extent immigration is an opening to the world, to other points of view."
"Every Life is History: 200 Views on Immigration" (Chaque vie est une histoire) runs until 9 February, 2025.
