Personne est invisible: an immersive exhibition about exile

“This door does not demand of him who enters whether he has a name, but whether he has a grief. You suffer, you are hungry and thirsty; you are welcome. And do not thank me; do not say that I receive you in my house. No one is at home here, except the man who needs a refuge.”

Bishop Myriel, Les Misérables, Victor Hugo.

Hi everyone,

Two years ago we asked you to help us so we could bring art material to the Calais Jungle and lead workshops there.

After the camp was dismantled in November 2016, our project had to change: indeed we were set to sell postcards and calendars made with the drawings to finance WiFi to the Jungle Books School where we taught, but neither students nor school remained.

That is when we thought about exhibitions, as a means of raising awareness and mobilising people.

Art has it own language of communication, a universal and subjective one, without words, with no physical or psychological barriers. Art doesn’t know nor recognise borders. The artists from our workshops cannot travel as they like but their art can.

Our effort is anchored in using artistic and cultural means to spread awareness, but also in a desire to pay tribute to the people and their voices, giving way to them beyond their challenges of life and survival and their legal preoccupation

« Hassan against terrorism » is an artwork made during our workshops at the Jungle Book Library. Hassan comes from Chad. When we asked him how we knew all these different kinds of army vehicles and military weapons, he told us he’d been forced to be a child soldier at the age of 8.

Last year, IMAGINE developed Protestimony: an echo of the camp which opened at the International Edinburgh Festival in August 17 before touring the UK. (Being Human Festival - Norwich Cathedral , Sussex University..)

For those who didn’t manage to see it, take a tour by clicking the links below:

Protestimony: an article

360• tour of Protestimony: an echo of the camp

Two years after the Calais Jungle was demolished, we observe worsening conditions in the treatment of refugees across Europe, the enactment of more rigorous asylum laws, an increase in the anti-immigrant rhetoric and implicit/explicit hostile policies.

In response to the current situation, we have developed

Nobody is invisible, nobody is born invisible, nobody isn’t invisible.

An immersive exhibition presenting a reflective journey into exile, the different policies of welcoming refugees, human rights and migration rights and into the visibility/invisibility of this crisis in our society.

The exhibition runs from 5th until 26th October 2018 at The Consulat de la Gaieté. ( 2, rue Vercingétorix, Paris 75014).

Remembering, making the “invisible” apparent, inscribing in the nation’s history and the national awareness is making sure we do not repeat the same mistakes, it’s the willingness to learn from past lessons, it’s an attempt to approach our era’s problems with integrity and humanity.

In order to conduct this project the way it is intended, we would like to ask for your support by donating.

We will use your donation for the following:

• printing fees: all informational and educational ressource for the exhibition. ( journey, posters, placards, photography, illustrations, maps..)
• Tents and sleeping bags: once the exhibition over they will be donated to the “Auberge des Migrants/Help Refugees in Calais and Utopia 56 in Paris as they are essential to the upcoming winter.
• Diverse exhibition material (hanging, lights, electronics..)
• Logistics

If we raise enough funds, a percentage of the proceeds will be given to the artists participating in the exhibition: musicians, painters, conceptual artists, writers..

Thank you, THANK YOU, thank you for supporting us.

Lujza & Marthe.