The permanent exhibition
The permanent exhibition at the Musée national de l'histoire de l'immigration traces the history of France from 1685 to the present day through the lens of migration. Completely redesigned in 2023, it offers a chronological, thematic and sensitive overview of this shared history. Marked by eleven key dates, it concludes with a section devoted to contemporary issues.
Legende
Section 1917 de l'exposition permanente du Musée
Credit
Photo : Anne Volery © EPPPD
Immigration: a central element in French history
The Musée's permanent exhibition covers three centuries of immigration history in France across 1,800 m². Archival documents, paintings, sculptures, photographs, contemporary creations and individual journeys: nearly 600 works and objects – from the museum's collections and on loan from several cultural institutions – tell another story of France, a story closely linked to the exchanges and movements of populations from 1685 to the present day.
Deeply connected to current events and contemporary issues, the permanent exhibition aims to make the history of immigration a central part of national history, to promote recognition of this history and, finally, to encourage reflection.
11 key dates for understanding the history of immigration in France
Section 1973 de l'exposition permanente du Musée.
Photo : Cyril Zannettacci © Palais de la Porte Dorée
To recount this shared history, the exhibition is structured around 11 key dates, eleven landmarks in the history of immigration over the last three centuries that echo significant events in French history.
The immersion begins under the Ancien Régime in 1685 - the date of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes and the promulgation of the Code Noir in France - and allows us to address, over the course of the periods, the construction and evolution of statuses and citizenships, migratory movements, hospitality and xenophobia, the social and cultural history of migration, as well as struggles and controversies.
These key dates, which mark the different chronological sections, provide an opportunity to tell a new story of immigration in France – political, economic and cultural. Identity papers, photographs, personal items and administrative documents, donated by immigrants or their relatives, retrace unique destinies that sensitively illustrate the upheavals of history.
The history of migration in a film
Contemporary art for a sensitive approach to migration
Legende
Vue de l'exposition permanente - Musée de l'histoire de l'immigration
Credit
Photo : Anne Volery © Palais de la Porte Dorée
A series of contemporary artworks punctuate the exhibition, offering a reflective, aesthetic and emotional approach to migration.
Among the artists featured, Kader Attia, Babi Badalov, Lahouari Mohammed Bakir, Pascale Consigny, Claire Fontaine, Samuel Fosso, Mathieu Pernot, Zineb Sedira, Barthelemy Toguo, Gaëlle Choisne and Valérie Mréjen shed light on the concepts of movement, exile and identity through their personal perspectives and stories.
Curators
Sébastien Gökalp
Head curator, director, Musée national de l’histoire de l’immigration.
Émilie Gandon
Executive curator, heritage curator, Musée national de l’histoire de l’immigration.
Marianne Amar
Scientific curator, dierctor of the research department at the Musée national de l’histoire de l’immigration.
Emmanuel Blanchard
Scientific curator, historian and political scientist, lecturer at the Université de Versailles- Saint-Quentin and lecturer / researcher at Sciences Po Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
Delphine Diaz
Scientific curator, historian, lecturer in contemporary
history at the University of Reims Champagne-
Ardenne, junior member of the Institut Universitaire
de France.
Camille Schmoll
Scientific curator, geographer, director of studies at EHESS/ Géographie - cités laboratory.
Les éditions autour de la collection
Parcourez la collection du Musée, riche de plus de 9000 œuvres, objets et documents, à travers des ouvrages dédiés à ses trois fonds.
Les ouvrages de la collection
Rassemblant plus de 9 000 œuvres, objets et documents, la collection du Musée témoigne de l’extraordinaire richesse et diversité de l’histoire de l’immigration en France à travers les siècles. Histoire, Témoignages & Société, Art contemporain : parcourez les trois fonds de la collection à travers trois ouvrages inédits.
Une histoire de l'immigration en 100 objets
Une peinture, une truelle de maçon, une photographie, un passeport ou encore une paire de bottes : que nous racontent les 100 objets réunis dans cet ouvrage parmi tous ceux qui sont exposés dans le nouveau Musée national de l’histoire de l’immigration ?
Program
- Tout public
Partners
Media partners
TV / Radio
