Request a loan

The collections of the Musée National de l’Histoire de l’Immigration can be made available temporarily to museums and cultural institutions for exhibition projects, under certain conditions.

You can start by contacting the curators via prets-mnhi@palais-portedoree.fr to determine the conditions and availability.

The letter, written and signed on letterhead paper, should specify:

• the name of the institution requesting the loan
• the full contact details of the manager of the structure, who will sign the loan agreement
• the name and position of the exhibition project manager
• the name and full address of the exhibition venue
• the title of the exhibition
• the start and end dates of the exhibition
• the dates, venues and details of any travelling exhibitions (if the calendar is not yet definitive, the total duration of the exhibition should at least be specified, for reasons of preventative conservation)
• a synopsis of the project
• the list of works requested with, if possible, the inventory number
• the display and security conditions at the exhibition venue (“Facility report”)
• the phone numbers and addresses of any useful contacts (commissioner, exhibition manager, registrar…)

Requests are processed by an in-house commission at the MNHI, which meets around every 8 weeks, then, in the case of approval, by the scientific commission for national museums, which serves as a loan commission.
The loans commission examines the applicant’s scientific and cultural project, the availability of the work, technical feasibility, (the condition of the work, timeline of the request, etc.). It also evaluates the security and conservation guarantees presented in the venue’s “Facility report”, which should be sent with the request and, in the case of approval, informs as to the conditions of the loan.