Different perspectives on colonial history. The exhibition presents new research associated with one of the most emblematic missions of the 1930s.
Between 1931 and 1933, the 'Dakar-Djibouti Ethnographic and Linguistic Mission' journeyed through sixteen African countries. Led by French ethnologist Marcel Griaule, it tested new methods of ethnographic survey and collection. In 1933, it contained over 3,000 objects, 6,000 natural specimens, as many photographs, 300 manuscripts, around 50 human remains, some 20 recordings and over 10,000 field notes resulting from observation 'surveys' or 'interrogations'. This scientific expedition also attracted a great deal of media attention with the publication of L'Afrique fantôme, the personal diary of the mission's secretary, Michel Leiris, in which he reveals the relations between the colonised and the colonialists, as well as the conditions under which the surveys and collections were carried out.
Through a selection of objects, photographs and archives, the exhibition revisits documented facts, placing at the heart of the subject the results of research and the current viewpoint of professionals from the African continent. These counter investigations, carried out jointly by a dozen African and French scientists, aim to retrace the conditions under which these heritages were acquired and collected in order to shed light on the colonial context and the stories of men and women who have remained anonymous until now.
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Head Curator
Gaëlle Beaujean, Head of the Africa Collections at the musée du quai Branly Jacques Chirac, France
Associate Curators of the exhibition
Didier Houénoudé, Professor, University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin
Hugues Heumen, Professor and Director, National Museum of Cameroon
Sisay Sahile Beyene, Historian, University of Gondar, Ethiopia
Daouda Keïta, Executive Director, National Museum of Mali
Aimé Kantoussan, Director of Research, Museum of Black Civilisations, Senegal
Mame Magatte Thiaw, Research Fellow, Museum of Black Civilisations, Senegal
Julien Bondaz, Lecturer, Lyon 2 University, France
Claire Bosc-Tiessé, Director of Studies, EHESS, FrancePublication Directors
Éric Jolly, Research Director, CNRS, France
Marianne Lemaire, Research Fellow, CNRS, France
Salia Malé, Anthropologist, MaliScenography
Marc Vallet, Olivier Bergère, Alain Chevalier
- Duration: 10:54
- Place: Mezzanine est
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TimeSlots:
From Tuesday 15 April 2025 at Sunday 14 September 2025 -
Closed on mondayTuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 10:30 am-07:00 pmThursday: 10:30 am-10:00 pm
- Public: All publics
- Categorie : Exhibitions
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Museum ticket entranceFull price: 14,00 €Reduce rate: 11,00 €
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