Press dossier
www.zooshumains.be/presse
HUMAN ZOOS
The Invention of the Savage
from 17 September to 23 December 2016
Press release
Human Zoos. The Invention of the Savage
For the first time in Belgium, the exhibition Zoos humains. L’invention du sauvage is going to be
put on at the initiative of the Fondation Lilian Thursam, which aims to educate against racism, and
of the Achac research group. The latter have produced the exhibition and enriched it specially for
its installation at La Cité Miroir in Liège. This exhibition, in various forms, has already been on
show in France (at the musée du quai Branly among others), in Guyana, California, Ivory Coast, and
Switzerland.
For almost five centuries, the human exhibition industry went on to fascinate more than 1 billion 400
million visitors and put on show between 30 and 35 000 exhibits throughout the world. These human
exhibitions aimed essentially at drawing a boundary and a hierarchy between allegedly “civilised humans” and alleged “savages”. It was always, most often, the first visual contact, the first encounter,
between the Other and Us.
Through Human Zoos, spectators learn how racist prejudices took hold. Racism is above all a construction of the intellect. The exhibition invites everyone to be aware that history has conditioned us, from
generation to generation, to see ourselves primarily as Blacks, White, North Africans or Asians.
By proposing this theme, the non-profit association Secular Action Centre of the Province of Liège and
the non-profit association MNEMA wish to shed light on this historic reality and enable a reflection
on our own intellectual heritage. It is important to understand how our prejudices have set in, so that
we can deconstruct them. Our societies must learn the nevertheless simple idea that a person’s skin
colour, gender, religion or sexuality in no way determines their intelligence, the language they speak,
their physical capacities, their nationality, their likes and dislikes. Each of us is capable of believing
whatever we are told, bad or good.
Press dossier and graphics for downloading at www.zooshumains.be/presse
Press contact:
Charlotte Collot
Press attaché
0490 42 53 69 - 04 250 99 48
[email protected]
© Groupe de recherche Achac
FIVE CENTURIES OF EXHIBITION HISTORY
This unprecedented exhibition tells the story of the women, men and children – from Africa, Oceania,
the Americas and sometimes Europe – who were put on show in the West. For almost five centuries
(1490-1960), Europe, America and Japan presented them as so-called “savages”. The phenomenon
reached its peak between the mid-19th century and the 1950s, manifesting itself in a veritable exhibition industry.
This “spectacle” fascinated our Western societies, counting almost a billion and a half visitors and
tens of thousands of human exhibits. In Belgium, as in the other Western European countries, visitors
came in their millions, from 1885 to 1958, to discover those who were called “savages”. Coming from
the four corners of the world and from the Belgian colonies too, they were agents in the staging of this
great show of otherness, and they legitimised colonisation.
In theatres, circuses, fairgrounds, cabarets, zoos, pleasure gardens and great universal, national, or
colonial exhibitions, the “savage” was invented. It is essential to keep in mind that, often, this “spectacle” constituted the public’s first contact with the “Other”, at the time when colonial empires were
unfolding across the five continents.
© Groupe de recherche Achac
A PHENOMENON IN BELGIUM, THROUGHOUT EUROPE AND ACROSS
THE WORLD
It was through this prism that millions of Belgians, like their European neighbours, forged their view
of the colonised peoples. It is comprehensible only if it is put in perspective with its context; that of
the building of the great colonial empires and of the emergence of racialist, eugenic or segregationist
theories, at a time when mass spectacles contributed to establishing a common identity in the West.
The exhibition of human groups on such a scale remains a practice that is specific to the colonial
nations.
The exhibition’s presence at this site is born of the desire to better understand the origins and construction mechanisms of discrimination and stereotypes, 110 years after the first Universal Exhibition in
Liège in 1905 where Europe’s colonial nations put their colonies on show.
The Achac research group, made up of historians specialising in the colonial and post-colonial question and Fondation Lilian Thuram. Éducation contre le racisme, join the non-profit associations Secular Action Centre of the Province of Liége and MNEMA in offering La Cité Miroir, a space for debate
and culture, for telling this forgotten history at the crossroads of the histories of colonialism, science,
racism and the world of the spectacle... The history of “human zoos”.
ORGANISED TOURS OF THE EXHIBITION
FOR EVERYONE AGED 12 AND ABOVE
Tours offered by the Secular Action Centre of the Province of Liège according to a critical and citizenly
approach to the phenomenon of human zoos, and with a view to providing education on human rights.
While all individuals are born free and with equal rights, nothing is less easy than understanding and
accepting diversity. Like other colonising peoples, the Europeans refused for a long time to place their
humanity on a par with that of those who often differed as a result of their physical appearance and
culture.
Come and find out how history has conditioned us, from generation to generation, to see ourselves
primarily as Blacks, Whites, North Africans, or Asians... Well, a person’s skin colour, their religion,
their sexuality in no way determines their intelligence or physical capabilities. Come and understand
how our prejudices have set in and how they can be deconstructed.
¬¬ Tours in French and English
¬¬ Price: €25 • Exceptional rate thanks to the support of public authorities and partners
¬¬ Open to all visitors aged 12 and above
An introductory brochure (French, German and Dutch version) will be available at a price of €2
(This amount covers translation costs)
Tours offered by the non-profit Art&fact, an association of art historians from the University of Liège,
according to a historical, anthropological and artistic approach to the phenomenon of human zoos.
The “Other” has always been invoked. Be he different by virtue of his geographical origin, his culture
or his physical appearance, he fascinates and frightens simultaneously. The first contacts with new
populations, from the 16th century onwards, prompted a growing curiosity, which swiftly gave way to
veritable racial theories aiming at establishing “scientifically” the superiority of the white race. The
big colonial powers of the 19th century, in particular Belgium, contributed to reinforcing unequal
treatment. The sentiment of the exhibition and tour is extended to the “freaks”, the individuals affected
by a physical flaw who, for a long time, caused circuses to prosper in Europe and the United States.
¬¬ Tour in French, Dutch and English
¬¬ Price: €65 / €75 (see information below)
¬¬ Open to all visitors aged 12 and above
INFORMATION
Admission to the exhibition:
Full rate €5
Concession €3
(groups of min .10 pers. / max 25 pers. , under 26, jobseekers, MNEMA citizen, member of
Territoires de la Mémoire, carte Prof, article 27)
Tours of the Secular Action Centre of the Province of Liège: €25
Exceptional rate thanks to the support of public authorities and partners
Art& Fact tours:
Weekdays: Guided tours (French and Dutch): €65
Guided tours in English: €75
Weekends: Guided tours (French, English, Dutch): €75
BOOKINGS
By e-mail: [email protected]
By telephone: 04 230 70 50
Accessible to persons of reduced mobility
OPENING HOURS
Monday to Friday from 9am to 18pm
Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 18pm
Last entrance at 17pm
© Groupe de recherche Achac
Exposition de Charleroi 1911. Entrée principale.
THE ORGANISERS
Le Centre d’Action Laïque de la Province de Liège asbl
Through its measures, the Secular Action Centre of the Province of Liège, a non-profit association, militates in
favour of the dignity of each individual, by combating discriminatory practices, marginalisation and injustice.
This is put into practice by meaningful initiatives in favour of amplified equality, solidarity, democracy and
citizenship. The association, established at La Cité Miroir, finds in this space a new framework for action which
allows it to reach an ever-bigger audience and thus promote values of emancipation and autonomy of the individual. Its action is inscribed in a perspective of social progress aimed at reaffirming its role as a stakeholder
in building a fair, tolerant and democratic society based on solidarity.
www.calliege.be
MNEMA asbl
Created on 10 December 2004 at the initiative of the Territoires de la Mémoire, the non-profit association MNEMA was responsible for the project to renovate the former la Sauvenière baths and spas in Liège in order to
transform them into La Cité Miroir, a true hub of education, debate and culture. In parallel to this management
task, MNEMA offers a varied cultural programme at La Cité Miroir: theatre, music, conference cycle. All these
activities are in direct relation with citizenship education, commemorative work, or dialogue among cultures,
the non-profit association’s three major lines. MNEMA’s desire and mission is to position itself as a defender
of diversity, pluralism and tolerance. Within La Cité Miroir, it forges an intelligent link between the past, the
present and the future.
www.mnema.be
THE PARTNERS
Achac research group (Paris)
Since 1989, the Achac research group has been studying stereotypes and representations of the “Other” through
the history of “human zoos”. This examination been performed through various international colloquia and a documentary, Zoos humains, with broadcaster Arte in 2002. Several works, among them Human Zoos and colonial
exhibitions (La Découverte) in 2011 and L’invention de la race. Scientific representations at popular exhibitions
(La Découverte) in 2014 brought together more than fifty contributions. At the same time, the exhibition Exhibitions. L’invention du sauvage was held at the Musée du quai Branly in 2011-2012 (with a catalogue published at
Actes Sud) in collaboration with the Fondation Lilian Thuram. Éducation contre le Racisme.
www.achac.com
La Fondation Lilian Thuram. Éducation contre le racisme (Paris)
“One is not born racist, one becomes it” is the cornerstone of the foundation set up in 2008 by Lilian Thuram. Its
aim is to show that racism is above all a historical political construction. From generation to generation, history
has conditioned us to divide the human race into categories.
The passing on of this message is the foundation’s aim, by way of pedagogical support measures, event organisation, the publication of works or comic books, and to inculcate these values via the intermediary of parents,
school and sport.
www.thuram.org
Musée Royal de l’Afrique Centrale Tervueren (Brussels)
The MRAC must be a global centre of research and knowledge diffusion, dedicated to the past and present of
societies and their natural environments in Africa, in particular in Central Africa, in order stimulate interest
and to ensure better understanding of this part of the world by the general public and the scientific community,
and to use partnerships in order to contribute significantly to this region’s sustainable development. The main
missions of this institution centred on Africa therefore comprise the acquisition and management of collections,
scientific research, exploitation of the results of this research, and presentation of part of its collections to the
general public. The museum is a centre of knowledge and resources on Africa and in particular Central Africa, in
a historical, contemporary and global context. The museum exhibits unique collections. It is a place of remembering the colonial past and positions itself as a dynamic platform of exchange and dialogue among cultures
and among generations.
www.africamuseum.be
THE LOCATION
La Cité Miroir
An exceptional location in the service of education, debate and culture. The former building of la Sauvenière
baths and spas is a work of reference in Liège’s architectural landscape. The building has been a listed part of
Walloon Heritage as a monument since May 2005.
Built from 1938 onwards at the initiative of Deputy Mayor Georges Truffaut and opened to the public in 1942, this
project enrolled itself in the hygienist movement, which wished to enable everybody, including the most vulnerable, to enjoy the benefits of cleanliness for health. The public baths were, moreover, used well after the closure
of the swimming pool. Care provided also extended to the treatment of certain illnesses, such as tuberculosis or
skin diseases. We note that this place remains very dear to the heart of the Liégeois, many of whom learned to
swim or practised other sports disciplines there. The la Sauvenière swimming pool was therefore designed as a
place of social emancipation, of solidarity and treatments accessible to all.
The building was renovated under the direction of the non-profit association MNEMA by Triangle Architectes and
consulting firm Pierre Beugnier.
Since January 2014, through the activity of several associations (Le Centre d’Action Laïque de la Province de
Liège asbl, Les Territoires de la Mémoire asbl and Mnema asbl), La Cité Miroir has become a key place of reflection and dialogue, within which art, culture, knowledge and memory benefit from unique means of expression in
order to prompt the curiosity and nourish the open-mindedness of everyone. La Cité Miroir is a space where the
past and the present meet all citizens in order to build the future!
More information - www.citemiroir.be
© Thierry Lechanteur
Place Xavier Neujean • 22 • 4000 Liege
www.zooshumains.be
Éditeur responsable : Robert Moor • Président • 33-35, boulevard de la Sauvenière • 4000 Liège
At