The Musée national de l'histoire de l'immigration

The Musée National de l'Histoire de l'Immigration is a multi-disciplinary cultural, scientific and educational institution: exhibition spaces, auditorium, cinema, a place for reflection and debate, art activities. Its mission is to collect, safeguard and highlight the history of immigration and make it accessible to the broadest possible audience, to promote and acknowledge its role in the France of past and present. The museum presents a wide-ranging approach, from a chronological (from 1685 to the present day), geographic (France in the world) and theme-based viewpoint: legislations, migrations, demographics, the economy, everyday life, culture, art, but also racism, discrimination, the link to slavery and colonisation.

The collections

The Musée National de l’Histoire de l’Immigration is entrusted with the task of creating, conserving, and presenting to the public a representative collection of the history and cultures of immigration. The collection is organised into three complementary areas :

  • History, based on material traces of the past
  • Society, which recognises the legitimacy of testimonials in the museographic narrative and the national heritage
  • Contemporary creation, which presents a subjective, aesthetic and emotional interpretation of migration.

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Permanent visitor trail

A new permanent visitor trail will open in Spring 2023. It will present a chronological approach to the history of France through the lens of legislations, movements and cultures, from 1685 to the present day.

Temporary exhibitions

Cross perspectives, social issues, focus on the history of a particular immigration, spotlight on an artist, the temporary exhibitions present other facets of our shared history or take a deeper dive into the themes of the permanent visitor trail.

Past exhibitions

Cultural programming

Music, shows, conferences, cinema, literary encounters, debates, events for young audiences... The temporary exhibitions and cultural agenda are enhanced by programming that highlights the artists, creators, researchers or writers who explore the fields of immigration, its history, or cultural diversity in France and worldwide.

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The Abdelmalek Sayad Resource Centre

The resource centre provides researchers, students, teaching staff and professionals with resources and documents pertaining to immigration in France, from the 19th century to the present day. It boasts a diverse collection: archival collections, documentary files, grey literature, press reviews, theme-based bibliographies, posters, magazines, along with a unique audio-visual and multimedia collection: activist films, documentaries, fiction films, sound documents. An online documentary portal and a multimedia space complete the offering.

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The Museum and the world

The Museum’s strategy for development and expansion of its international influence is structured around two main axes: actively contributing to the emergence and operation of a new international network of migration museums and producing or co-producing international projects.

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