On one side, there are unprecedented and monumental creations that literally take over all the spaces of the museum. On the other side, a personal and sensitive stroll among objects and works from the museum's three collections: contemporary art, history, and testimonies and society. This is the exciting program currently offered by the Palais de la Porte Dorée, featuring a double exhibition that is extremely comprehensive, providing us with a unique glimpse into the world to discover as soon as possible. And just so you know, it’s free for those under 26!
Art everywhere and by everyone
No sooner have we passed through the heavy door of the Palais de la Porte Dorée than we find ourselves immersed in this majestic exhibition. In the hall, the huge "poetic birds" in full migration imagined by Claude Closky share the space with Katinka Bock's mobile. A strange assembly of old pipes from the museum, but also...
I objects recovered from the staff of the institution, carefully imprisoned forever in ceramics.```htmlSee this post on Instagram
Because to imagine this unique blank canvas, each of the 13 international artists engaged in dialogue with the exhibition curators, before diving deeper into discussions with the museum's residents, be they visitors, or ... maintenance agents, the animals, or the figures of the Palace. This results in works that, each in their own way, evoke questions of movement, of ...networks, of movements and heritages.
We especially love the work of Juliette Green, who, at the heart of the tropical aquarium, evokes the relationship between the fish that inhabit the space and the borders, to compare their migration experience to that of humans. Or the Myanmar House by Aung Ko, a creation inspired by traditional houses of Myanmar, where the artist hails from.
and continues with fabrics gathered for the occasion from the museum staff, and stitched together with visitors!
Laetitia Tura, I'm not dead, I'm here (title of the series). Disappearances - Stranded Boat. Zarzis, Tunisia, 2012 © Laetitia Tura
Crossed Looks on Immigration
After this introduction full of poetry, the institution invites us to broaden our perspective on the world and immigration through the lens of invisibility. Contemporary art, history, and testimonies coexist and converse here to unveil the narratives of immigration, whether they are collective or personal. It's a wonderful opportunity for the museum to reflect on 20 years of acquisitions.
Through the three stages of the exhibition, we discover with emotion stories that touch the heart and shine a light on realities often overlooked.Testimonials, works, and archival objects that immerse us in the reality of migration flows and the living conditions of migrants in France. Portraits, phone cards, fascinating artistic creations (like the Marseille soap work by Taysir Batniji, which proudly carries the values of freedom and exchange) and even a real kwassa-kwassa, a boat used by migrants from Mayotte, come together to make visible those who, too often even today, are doomed to invisibility.
Taysir Batniji, L’Homme ne vit pas seulement de pain #2, 2012 © Adagp, Paris, 2024
With the strong and poetic texts of Nathacha Appanah guiding us, each part unveils a different aspect of migration: the departure, which often means leaving an entire life behind, the arrival, and the personal reconstruction that it entails, and finally the aftermath, connecting personal stories with universal themes, or tracing the journeys of families that are unique.
So, we are treated to a dialogue between artworks, testimonies, and souls presented by the Palais de la Porte Dorée, in a double exhibition that is as fair as it is enlightening.
It's strong. By blending past stories and contemporary art, the institution offers us a fresh, comprehensive, and relevant perspective on immigration, through a human and symbolic exhibition where everyone will find something relatable.
Diane Grimonet, Undocumented immigrants in France. Demonstration in Paris to demand the regularization of all undocumented immigrants, the end of deportations, the closure of detention centers, and the release of all undocumented immigrants imprisoned for lack of papers, 2000 © Diane Grimonet
Each life is a story
Palais de la Porte Dorée
293, avenue Daumesnil – 12th
Until February 9, 2025
More info