Chronicles of a renaissance

Design, creation of audiovisual programs for the Musée de l’Homme’s temporary inaugural exhibition

Date
2015
Location
Paris
Status
Completed
Bloc

The reopening of the Musée de l’Homme in October 2015 was a highly anticipated event for both the general public and the scientific community. After six years of work, and following the opening of the Musée du Quai Branly - Jacques Chirac on the other side of the Seine, the collections and anthropological contribution of this unique site was missing from the international museum landscape.

The first temporary exhibition, “Chronicles of a renaissance”, was unveiled to the public for the grand opening (from October 17, 2015 to June 13, 2016) as an introduction to the new museum, offering a glimpse into the museum-laboratory’s transformation to the new Musée de l’Homme.

Vue de la salle d'exposition
View from the exhibition room © reciproque

Reciproque produced and created an audiovisual mural, with a play time of approximately 18 minutes, broadcasted on a 24-meter screen, featuring archive images, photo stories, past documents and facts. Without a word, the exhibition tells the story of the museum, its collections and its inhabitants. This chronological mural spanning from 1855 to 2015 unfurls the scientific and institutional legacy of the Musée de l’Homme, offering the opportunity to present its origins at the end of the 19th century, its founders, Paul Rivet and Georges Henri Rivière, as well as the fields of study and researchers who left their mark on its history, namely Germaine Tillion and the Musée de l’Homme network during the Resistance.

Reciproque also conducted a series of audio interviews on the jobs carried out behind the scenes at the museum.