Nantes citizens from elsewhere

A HISTORY OF FOREIGN PEOPLE IN NANTES IN THE 20TH CENTURY

This exhibition displayed hundreds of objects collected from the local Nantes population. The roughly one hundred men and women who lent their objects were committed to this long-term process, and the totality of the selected objects acted as an account of how individual and col­lective life evolved in the area.
Through nine individual stories and filmed accounts, the exhibition evoked the way in which migrants were welcomed by the population and associations, the discrimination and rejection they faced, as well as the economic and cultural contributions these foreigners have made to the region… These are the different approaches used to shed light on a social phenomenon that has lost none of its importance today.

Throughout the duration of this exhibition, six associations or support groups for foreigners – ASAMLA, GASProm, Maison des Citoyens du Monde, Tissé Métisse, Casa Africa and the group Uni-e-s Contre une Immigration Jetable (UCIJ) – set up shop on the ground floor of the Bâtiment du Harnachement, and contributed experiences from their fieldwork.

Curator: Agathe Konaté (Nantes history museum)

Scénography: Agence Klapisch/Claisse

Graphic design: Atelier JBL