In 2018, the first edition of Expression(s) décoloniale(s) invited visitors to discover ethnographic objects taken from Nantes’s colonial institutions and examine the museum’s collection through “how one sees the Other”. The goal was to highlight “what collections do not say out loud when they evoke the Other… but quietly murmur all the same” and, in doing so, invite the museum to “decolonize thinking”. Several works by Kinshasa-born Canadian artist Moridja Kitenge Banza, on display in the permanent collection, emphasized the dialogue and complementary nature of historical and artistic viewpoints.
In May 2021, the second edition of Expression(s) décoloniale(s) will once again offer visitors the chance to discover current historical and artistic perspectives on the Transatlantic Slave Trade. By inviting the major Beninese artist, Romuald Hazoumè, and Ivoirian historian specializing in the Slave Trade, Gildas Bi Kakou, to react and interact with objects in the permanent collection, the Musée d’histoire de Nantes hopes to open up a space for fruitful exchange.
