It is a story that has often been made invisible, denied, distorted, mocked: that of women, and more particularly of feminists who have fought for women’s rights, from the right to vote to that for abortion. At Mused Carnavalet, devoted to the history of Paris from prehistory to the present day, it took three years to build one of the first exhibitions to retrace this history of women and feminist movements in the capital. “Since the 1980s, the museum has devoted several hundred temporary exhibitions to the most varied eras and themes. But less than 10 made women’s creations visible. The renovation of the museum, between 2016 and 2021, gave the opportunity for a radical, necessary turn. In the new presentation of the permanent collections as in the programming of the temporary exhibitions, the objective now set is to break with the under-representation of women” explains Valérie Guillaume, director of the museum since 2013.
In 2019, the director turned to Christine Bard, historian specializing in the history of women and feminism, president of the Archives du féminisme and professor of contemporary history at the University of Angers, to create an exhibition dedicated to the history of feminist movements in Paris. With Juliette Tanré-Szewczyk, heritage curator, head of the department of sculptures and architectural and urban heritage, and Catherine Tambrun, conservation officer in the Department of Photographs and Digital Images, both at the Carnavalet Museum, they set out to unearth representative pieces of more than 200 years of feminist struggles. Problem: they are not so easy to find.
Making women’s struggles visible through new pieces
Catherine Tambrun admits it to us, as we enter the exhibition through an arch lined with streets and places in Paris bearing the names of women, “it is difficult to explain a concept which is that of emancipation”. Throughout the pieces, from the French Revolution to the 2000s, Parisians, citizens! multiplies paintings, period documents, photographs, sculptures, various objects that allow us to retrace the history of feminist movements in Paris. “Without Christine Bard, we would not have succeeded in putting on this exhibition: she is able to see the pitfalls, like the pieces that we think are feminist at first glance, and which are not” adds Catherine Tambrun. For the curators of the exhibition, it was necessary to search the archives, public and private funds, to best illustrate the emancipation of women. “For example, there are a lot of photographs that were taken expressly for the exhibition. There are plenty of works that were not inventoried that we have digitized and exhibited. So now they will enter the public domain, but they are completely new and we are presenting them for the first time,” explains Catherine Tambrun.
On the walls, large posters in favor of women’s suffrage, abortion or equal pay. Videos on the demonstrations of the Women’s Liberation Movement (MLF), undocumented workers, on committed artists. The exhibition is punctuated by interactive terminals, allowing you to observe the evolution over time of the number of women politicians in the National Assembly or of the streets of Paris bearing the names of women. Beyond known feminist figures, Parisians, citizens! gives pride of place to the struggles of racialized women, immigrant or domestic workers, lesbian activists from the Gouines Rouges. Paris, city of light, attracts women artists from all over the world, whose works are brought back to light. “It was also this idea of the iceberg: we show a lot of things, but we encourage visitors to go and look for themselves, to dig” notes Catherine Tambrun. On certain themes, small QR codes allow visitors to explore their curiosity further.
Embody the struggles, from the famous to the anonymous
For Valérie Guillaume, the exhibition shows, beyond individual trajectories, the strength of collective commitments, “tremendous levers for the emancipation of women”. From well-known figures (Simone de Beauvoir, George Sand, Simone Veil, etc.) to anonymous activists, the main thing was to “incarnate” them according to Christine Tambrun. Small portraits of women illustrate the cartels throughout the exhibition, showcasing those who have given of themselves to make women’s lives fairer. Factory unionists, resistance fighters, artists, lawyers, teachers… Their faces in the black and white or sepia photographs recall the passage of time and the rights acquired over the years. Crazy, hysterical, castrating: it is clear that in the 18th or 21st century, anti-feminist arguments do not change. And as for the methods, we learn that the French suffragettes had organized a great fire of newspapers and chains (symbolic) to claim the right to vote, place de la Bastille, not without frightening all the men around.
A very political subject, even though feminist movements remain very present in our society, and women’s rights are regularly flouted or called into question, including in Europe. “The exhibition deals with the history of women’s emancipation through key dates, major actions, led by anonymous or famous women. The approach is to present these historical struggles based on historical facts,” explains Valérie Guillaume. A visual history that is based on the facts, so as “not to be in a discourse” according to Catherine Tambrun: “we know that these exhibitions are very attacked, but I don’t see how here, because we are very factual. We are very rich in documents and different media”. An exhibition which also puts at the center the joy of the collective, the songs in demonstration, the snubs of the militants in power in place. What to get out of it with the desire to continue the fight.
Cherish a memory and pass it on
Open since September 28, the exhibition Parisians, citizens! don’t let up. And for good reason, it is quite new in the Parisian cultural landscape. “An exhibition is a lot of obstacles, discussions, you have to be able to convince. It wasn’t easy, I think that at the start, a lot of people didn’t believe it. And in the end, they believe it. I don’t believe that an exhibition like this has ever existed. I think it will be a milestone, because it’s a start,” notes Catherine Tambrun. In major museums, the share of works made by women is almost laughable: they represent less than 10% of the permanent collections.
If the exhibition goes as far as the feminist struggles of the 2000s, all those who visit it will think of the struggles led by their elders, and of the new generations after them. In 2022, less than 50 years after the law authorizing abortion, barely five years after #MeToo, everything still remains to be built, and nothing seems certain in terms of women’s rights. “Cheering this memory of women’s struggles is important, but I would even say that it is vital to better understand history and the struggles that still need to be waged against inequalities,” concludes director Valérie Guillaume. The exhibition Parisians, citizens! took place at the Carnavalet Museum until January 29, 2023. What to inspire to continue to fight for equality.