THE MONNA LISA LOVES THE EXHIBITION « PARISIENNES CITOYENNES ! »
Parisian women citizens! Commitments for the emancipation of women (1789-2000)...
This is the title of the new exhibition presented by the Carnavalet Museum from September 28, 2022 to January 29, 2023. This exhibition pays tribute to all women who fought to win their emancipation. Emancipation that translates into the right to education with the right to work, civil rights with the right to vote and occupy the public space, the freedom to dispose of her body with the right to abortion, and access to artistic and intellectual creation.
The exhibition starts with an introduction with the projection of a short film where several women speak about their different fights. The names of great feminist figures hang from the ceiling just above our heads. We dive directly into the history of the determined and courageous (Parisian) woman.
Once we have seen the film, we can begin the tour. The tour is built on the basis of a timeline. The date of the beginning: 1789, during the French Revolution where women claimed the right to be a citizen and where Olympe de Gouges wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Women and the Citizen. The last date that closes this historical journey: 2000, with the publication of the law of parity (equality between men and women in the political field).
The route is punctuated by important dates that marked the struggle of women for their freedom. We have paintings, sculptures, photographs, films, archives, posters, manuscripts, and other militant objects or even unusual as banners and clothing that are exposed to give us the impression of being there and live this fight together. It is a colorful, optimistic, encouraging, and modern exhibition.
“FEMMAGE” A TRIBUTE TO WOMEN
Through this exhibition, we learn more about the stakeholders who contributed and/or actively participated in the change. For example, for the subject of women and their bodies (abortion, contraception...), we see archives of the MLF (Women's Liberation Movement), of the Family Planning, of the doctors of the GIS (Health Information Group with the 331 Manifesto), of Simone Veil's speech...
This exhibition is a unique synthesis of the history and memory of women's struggles. Not only famous women are highlighted, but also all the anonymous women, including immigrant women, homosexuals, artists, sportswomen, revolutionary citizens, resistance fighters, suffragettes, political women, communards... It is a tribute to all the women who fought in the capital (avant-garde city) for their rights. It is a real "Femmage".
We recommend that you take the time to read the informative passages (written in the form of a comic strip), to watch and listen to the mini-films (interviews, reports)... It is a real immersion. We go back in time. We put ourselves in the place of the woman of each era.
This exhibition provokes reflection afterwards, and gives a lot of emotion and admiration at the time. We would like to conclude with a quote from Simone de Beauvoir that represents this exhibition well: "One is not born a woman, one becomes one."
Photos credits: www.carnavalet.paris.fr/expositions/parisiennes-citoyennes