Exhibition "Writing in French" at the Alliance Française of Paris
The Alliance Française of Paris and the Institut français present, until October 10, 2024, the journey of 100 French-speaking authors from around the world, through a traveling exhibition combining the French language and graphic arts. The exhibition kit will be made available to the French cultural network abroad starting in September 2024.
Updated on 27/08/2024
2 min
Bernard Magnier, Exhibition Curator
"They were born in Buenos Aires, Tokyo, or Kabul, in Dakar, Beirut, or Saigon. In China, Syria, Bulgaria, or Iran... In Moroni, Trois Boutiques, or Stalowa Wola... Places, countries, and lands not always immediately linked to the French language. Guided by destiny, chance, personal or collective history, inspired by their dramas, loves, encounters, these authors and their words have traveled. They all write in French. A French language inherited, imposed, or chosen, with which they maintain a pragmatic, loving, conflicted, passionate, creative relationship. A 'mother,' 'grandmother,' 'natural,' 'vital' language... Their language! Why? How did they take up this language? How did they receive it? How did they embrace it? How did they learn it? How did they challenge, enrich, and blend it? These are the journeys the exhibition follows."
Multiple testimonies: interaction between writing and graphic arts
Ode to the French language and Francophone cultures, the exhibition is composed of excerpts from works, exclusive filmed interviews, and selected quotes by Bernard Magnier – creator of the "Lettres africaines" collection at Actes Sud and programmer of the "Littératures métisses" festival in Angoulême and "Au fil des ailes" in the Grand Est – in collaboration with Sabyl Ghoussoub – columnist for the French and Lebanese press, and author of the autobiography "Beyrouth-sur-Seine," which won the Prix Goncourt des lycéens in 2022.
The words resonate here with the portraits of nine Francophone authors: Shumona Sinha (India), Mohamed Mbougar Sarr (Senegal), Sabyl Ghoussoub (Lebanon), Velibor Čolić (Bosnia), Kim Thùy (Vietnam/Quebec), Yara El-Ghadban (Palestine/Quebec), Léonora Miano (Cameroon), Maryam Madjidi (Iran), and Laura Alcoba (Argentina). Each maintains a unique connection to the French language and bears witness to unsuspected worlds, established at the crossroads of cultures. The illustrations are by Raphaëlle Macaron, known for the graphic novel "Les Terrestres," published in 2020, as well as the "Divas" exhibition, showcased at the Arab World Institute in 2021.
Usage Perspectives
The exhibition can be used as part of the Festival de la Francophonie, to resonate with the 19th Francophonie Summit, which will be held in Villers-Cotterêts and Paris on October 4 and 5, 2024.
Since March 20, the Festival de la Francophonie has been celebrating this year of pride in the French language and invites everyone to discover Francophone creativity in all its artistic, cultural, and entrepreneurial facets.