At the heart of the second confinement in France, the Jungleye association and photographer S\u00e9verine Sajous have set up a cultural activity for residents of \u00ab\u00a0La Maison des R\u00e9fugi\u00e9s\u00a0\u00bb and the Jourdan emergency accommodation center in Paris.<\/p>\n
CHU Jourdan welcomes, guides and shelters homeless people, isolated men and women, and exiled families from Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia. A total of 280 people live here, including 135 children.
\n\u00ab\u00a0La Maison des R\u00e9fugi\u00e9s\u00a0\u00bb, located on the first floor of the CHU Jourdan hospital, is a place open to everyone, from asylum seekers to Paris residents, committed citizens or those seeking solidarity, and associations and institutions specialized in or confronted with the issue of migration. The organization’s vocation is to network individual and collective initiatives to promote all cultures and encourage encounters.<\/p>\n
Affected by restrictions due to the pandemic, the \u00ab\u00a0Maison des R\u00e9fugi\u00e9s\u00a0\u00bb is at a standstill, activities have been interrupted since the start of the pandemic and spaces are empty. Jungleye having been granted exceptional access, the \u00ab\u00a0Ici, d’Ailleurs\u00a0\u00bb project is the first cultural activity organized since March 2020.<\/p>\n
CONCEPT<\/p>\n
The pandemic and the confinement imposed on everyone reduce social interaction, distance us from our loved ones and prevent us from moving and living freely. This exceptional situation makes us aware of the reality of exiles, undocumented migrants and asylum seekers, who are forced daily to live far from home (geographically, socially and in terms of family), with their movements restricted and controlled.
\nFaced with the permanent impossibility for exiles to be with their loved ones, the \u00ab\u00a0Ici, d’Ailleurs\u00a0\u00bb project suggests a \u00ab\u00a0family reunion\u00a0\u00bb around the creation of postcards.<\/p>\n
Through the question: \u00ab\u00a0Where would you go if you could get out of your 4 walls?\u00a0\u00bb, residents reconnect with places, with their landmarks and with the people they’ve left behind.
\nA photo studio set against a Chroma backdrop is an invitation to escape, allowing those who wish to join their loved ones for the time of a photo. Photographer S\u00e9verine Sajous (co-founder of the association) also takes portraits in situ, in the privacy of participants, which are then integrated into archive photos taken from their cell phones or memory drawers.<\/p>\n
The use of archival photos and contemporary portraits brings together two intimate realities, providing valuable insights into the identities and feelings of people who are often overlooked in our society.
\nThe creation of a pantone based on images of the Covid-19 molecule underlines the context, reframing and even framing the image and imagination we have of migrants and undocumented migrants.<\/p>\n
RESULTS & IMPACT<\/p>\n
The manipulation of images is intended to generate critical thinking in the service of solidarity with these people, who are often \u00ab\u00a0stared down\u00a0\u00bb by the media. At a time when the pandemic is leading us to experience moments of introspection, these testimonies mark an emotional pause that helps us to reflect on the experiences of people in exile or on the margins of society.<\/p>\n
A total of 17 postcards will be produced, each a unique object, complete with words written by the participants for their loved ones. They will all be sent to their recipients, either by post or via social networks.
\nThis moment of sharing had a strong positive impact on the participants as well as on their loved ones, the recipients of the postcards. The project also brought culture back to La Maison des r\u00e9fugi\u00e9s, which reopened its premises for yoga and sewing workshops following the success of this initiative.<\/p>\n
INTERNATIONAL MIGRANTS’ DAY<\/p>\n
December 18 is International Migrants Day. To mark the occasion, 1,750 copies of the 17 postcards produced during the workshop were printed by EMMA\u00dcS Solidarit\u00e9, the NGO behind the \u00ab\u00a0Refugee House\u00a0\u00bb project. Hundreds of postcards were sent to Parisians and local elected officials as a means of raising awareness and starting a dialogue on how to guarantee a dignified welcome for exiles.
\nEchoing this initiative, we exhibited these 17 unique large-format postcards in the streets of Marseille and Nantes. The billboards became a support for this free, self-produced exhibition, in the eyes of many passers-by. In these times of pandemics, when culture becomes inaccessible, we confront the closure of museums, exhibition halls and all cultural venues by appropriating public space and bringing culture to the streets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At the heart of the second confinement in France, the Jungleye association and photographer S\u00e9verine Sajous have set up a cultural activity for residents of \u00ab\u00a0La Maison des R\u00e9fugi\u00e9s\u00a0\u00bb and the Jourdan emergency accommodation center in Paris. CHU Jourdan welcomes, guides and shelters homeless people, isolated men and women, and exiled families from Eastern Europe, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":1632,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-postcards"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jungleye.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jungleye.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jungleye.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jungleye.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jungleye.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1631"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.jungleye.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1631\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2141,"href":"https:\/\/www.jungleye.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1631\/revisions\/2141"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jungleye.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jungleye.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jungleye.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jungleye.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}