Exhibition Catalogue : Generations: a hundred year cultural history of North Africans in France
Génériques, in partnership with Gallimard and la Cité Nationale de l’Histoire de l’Immigration, proudly presents the catalogue of the exhibition: Generation, a hundred year cultural history of North Africans in France, directed by Driss el Yazami and Naïma Yahi.
July the 13th 1926: it is a sunny and summery day in Paris, the district of the Jardin des Plantes is in ferment. It is indeed the opening day of the Paris Mosque and the crowd is rushing into the brand new white building. Officials, among them Moulay Youssef: Sultan of Morrocco, Marechal Lyautey, the President of the Republic: Gaston Doumergue..,are all presents and the ceremony is carefully orchestrated by Imam Si Kaddour Ben Ghabrit. After the formal speeches, it is time for the young Algerian tenor: Mahjeddine Bachtarzi. He launches the call for prayers. Then Cheikh Alaoui, founding father of the mystic brotherhood Alaoui in Mostaganem, preaches the ritual message. Few meters away, North African nationalists, led by Messali Hadj, demonstrate to denounce this Mosque for “cocottes”. Each of these characters- Ben Ghabrit, Bachtarzi, Cheikh Alaoui and Messali Hadj- embodies and carries a very different but complementary history of immigration.
This catalogue offers a rich and brand new portrait of North Africans in France from the end of the XIXth century till today. Paintings, literature, music but also military or colonial history, religious practices and political movements are all different aspects of the same poorly known but promising history. With about 50 contributions from historians, social scientists and intellectuals and illustrated with more than 400 documents, this pioneer book demonstrates that North African cultural history belongs to our common heritage and collective memory.
Contributors
Génériques organises the exhibition and manages the publication of the catalogue. It leads a collaboration between 45 contributors: Pascal Blanchard, Christine Peltre, Marion Perceval, Eric Deroo, Jean-Yves Le Naour, Ralph Schor, Christelle Taraud, Julien Gaertner, Yvan Gastaut, Rabah Aïssaoui, Ouahami Ould-Braham, Kaïs Ezzerelli, Romain Ducoulombier, Mathieu Rigouste, Abderahmen Moumen, Jean-Charles Scagnetti, Driss El Yazami, Naïma Yahi, Jérémy Guedj, Anissa Bouayed, Benamar Mediene, Florence Jaillet, Ann Miller, Kacem Basfao, Amel Imalayene, Florence Gaillard, Johanna Kecklé, Michel Renard, Marie-Ange d’Adler, Thomas Lacroix, Carrie Tarr, Marie Virolle, Richard Derderian, Salah Amokrane, Alec G. Hargreaves, Mohamed Harbi, Smaïn Laacher, Benjamin Stora.
>> Contents (PDF)
>> Press release (PDF)
>> Official website of the exhibition.
