Banlieues chéries - the mobile exhibition that redefines cliché

At the crossroads of art, history, and social dynamics, the mobile exhibition Banlieues chéries offers a nuanced and immersive exploration at the heart of the suburbs, distinctive territories too often viewed through reductive lenses.

Affiche de l'exposition mobile Banlieues Chéries

Les Tours Aillaud. Quartier Pablo Picasso, Nanterre. Architect: Émile Aillaud. Series “Les Yeux des Tours,” 2015.

© Laurent Kronental

As the gateways into large cities, suburbs can often be viewed through a reductive lens. In French, the term banlieue covers a great diversity of realities frequently reduced to pitting supposedly peaceful residential neighbourhoods against the large housing developments that have drawn criticism over the years. Yet the suburbs are the reflection of a social and cultural wealth rooted in the history of France.

The mobile exhibition Banlieues chéries presents a deep-dive into these unique areas standing at the crossroads of art, history and social dynamics.

Objectives

  • Present a sensitively constructed history of French suburbs from the 19th century to the present day, with a focus on working-class suburbs, using the whole range of art forms: painting, photography, graffiti, design, music…
  • Explore the suburbs as places of memory and knowledge transmission.
  • Provide multiple perspectives on suburbs, giving a voice to the people who live, create, and fight for their rights there, constructing a dense and vigorous reality in these areas.
Photographie de deux fillettes par Jean-François Noël

Jean-François Noël, Two Little Girls, La Grande Borne, Grigny, 1973, Collection Jean-François Noël - photographer-author

© Jean-François Noël

In practice :

  • 16 roll-up panels, 100 x 200 cm