The new exhibition hosted by the Mucem is open to the public until 11 March 2024. It invites visitors to explore history from the perspectives of Africa, Asia, Latin America, Oceania and the Arab world.
"The Mucem invites visitors to explore the history of the world from the 13th to the 21st century from a Western perspective. Through sculptures, paintings, textiles, maps, archaeological objects, manuscripts and decorative arts, this exhibition reveals the infinite diversity of African, Asian, American and Oceanic experiences. It offers a glimpse of other forms of globalisation, in which Europe was not the only driving force. The works on display provide an insight into the relationship between time and space in societies outside Europe, and highlight the ways in which they write history. Lakota bison skins, engraved Kanak bamboo, Javanese historiated sarongs and Senegalese griot narratives bear witness to the infinite wealth of vernacular historiographies. (...) Faced with the European-centric narrative produced by the colonial empires from the 17th century onwards, the rulers, elites and artists of other continents have sought to reappropriate their history, sometimes drawing inspiration from Western practices, in order to portray their power or anti-colonial resistance. Today, new national novels enable them to rewrite their past by reinventing their relationship with the world." - Mucem press release.
Photo: "The real world's map", Chéri Samba, 2011. Galerie MAGNIN-A, photo: Florian Kleinefenn