Mediterraneans? Inventions and Representations

Co-published by Mucem and Skira
, May 2026
Paperback
200 pages
ISBN 978-2-37074-313-8

The catalog gives rise to several new creations and fosters a dialogue between the artist and the museum’s collections.

This book invites readers to discover the world of Mossi Traoré, his inspirations, and the major themes that shape the exhibition’s narrative: a passion for soccer as a collective language, India and its textile craftsmanship, the transmission of movement, and the importance of the arts—particularly dance—in shaping movement and form.

Mossi Traoré’s work celebrates ordinary people, communities, and places—from the Paris suburbs to Marseille—and champions a creative vision deeply rooted in reality. Les Ateliers Alix, founded by the designer, embody this vision of haute couture that is inclusive and empowering. Richly illustrated—notably with previously unpublished photographs taken at the Louvre Museum and the Marseille Velodrome—and accompanied by texts from experts, *Mossi Traoré*.

Fashion, too, asserts that a different kind of fashion is possible: one that brings people together rather than divides them, and that celebrates craftsmanship.

A graphic novel illustrated by Benoit Guillaume

Moderator: Nora Hamadi

Featuring Barbara Butch (DJ and producer) and Emmanuelle Lallement (anthropologist)

With the participation ofHélia Pauknerheritage curator, head of the Contemporary Art department at Mucemand/or Aude Fanlo, responsible for the Research and Teaching Department at Mucem.

An antidote to widespread depression, of course, but also a playground of freedom that teaches us to look beyond social, identity and sexual norms. Far from radicalism and austerity, isn’t celebration a political tool for writing our future together?

The catalog for the exhibition of the same name offers readers a contemporary and multifaceted perspective on motherhood in the Mediterranean, blending cultural representations with a historical approach and exploring political, social, and artistic issues.

All of the texts and contributions are guided by a single editorial perspective, centered on a central question: Between idealization and emancipation, how do the many facets of motherhood in the Mediterranean reveal the cultural and political issues that mothers embody?
In-depth essays, thematic articles, literary narratives, and poetic inserts will seek to address these questions. The written content will engage in dialogue with reproductions of artworks and iconographic materials drawn from the Mucem’s collections, those of partner institutions, and contemporary art; the collection as a whole aims to tell the stories of motherhood in all its diversity—from the mothers of rappers from “Planet Mars” to mothers who are victims of femicide.

A catalog designed to reflect the exhibition’s exceptionally rich journey.

A graphic novel illustrated by Benoit Guillaume

Moderated by Thomas Legrand

With Dominique Simonnot (General Inspector of Places of Detention) and Gwenola Ricordeau (sociologist and activist for the abolition of the criminal justice system)

With the participation of Claire Dufour, documentation officer at Mucem.

What if the justice system were more focused on prevention and rehabilitation? To what extent can it provide redress? Restorative justice, which aims to facilitate dialogue between victims and offenders in a confidential and secure setting, is one of the approaches currently being proposed to better support victims in their recovery and offenders in taking responsibility for their actions and reintegrating into society…

And to go a step further, can we imagine a society without punishment or repression, and what would be the repercussions on the way we think about our society, our history and our future?

A graphic novel illustrated by Benoit Guillaume

Moderator: Nora Hamadi
Featuring Nicolas Framont (sociologist, founder, and editor-in-chief of Frustration Magazine) and Pauline Rochart (independent consultant, author). With the participation of Mireille Jacotin, chief heritage curator and head of the Public Life division at Mucem.

Pension reform, uberization, malaise at work, loss of meaning, youth and senior unemployment: do we need to rethink the world of work and the time we devote to it? Between union mobilizations, legal reforms and social utopias, is the world of work a space we can reclaim together?

A graphic novel illustrated by Benoit Guillaume

Moderator: Rokhaya Diallo
With Alice Diop (director) and Felisa Vergara Reynolds (professor of French literature, University of Illinois)

With the participation of Caroline Chenu, in charge of research and collections at Mucem.

On the occasion of the anniversary of her birth and almost 2 years after her death, Les Procès du siècle revisits the figure of Maryse Condé, with whom the Mucem had the honor of building the event “Les amitiés de Maryse Condé” in November 2022.

In her works, the author—who first encountered racism upon arriving in Paris to study after growing up in Pointe-à-Pitre—has consistently addressed slavery, colonialism, migration, exile, racism, and championing women’s freedom and strength in the fight against oppression. Like Tituba, the heroine of her famous novel *I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem*—a young Black woman born as a result of her mother’s rape by an Englishman on a ship bound for Barbados.

A committed and inspiring writer, how does her legacy live on through a new generation of artists and intellectuals?

A graphic novel illustrated by Benoit Guillaume

Moderator: Rokhaya Diallo

Featuring: Cécile Cée (artist, author) and Lyes Louffok (head of a child protection agency, lawyer, children’s rights activist)

With the participation of Cléo Arnod, heritage curator in charge of the Clothing, Costume and Textile Department at Mucem.

Incest, child abuse, rape, violence in the family and educational spheres. Children’s social welfare is running out of steam. Does our society really protect children? Is it enabling them to develop into individuals who respect others and the world around them?

The cases and scandals that are now surfacing after decades of silence are revealing dysfunctions and raising the question of the trivialization of psychological, physical and sexual violence against children. How can we put an end to adultism and abusive adult domination?

A graphic novel illustrated by Benoit Guillaume

Moderator: Rokhaya Diallo
With Giulia Foïs (journalist) and Corentin Legras (doctoral student in anthropology)

With the participation of Caroline Chenu, in charge of research and collections at Mucem.

“Not all men”? And yet. There are a great many of them, and they bear a striking resemblance to the men we are and those around us. This is what the Mazan trial, among others, has brought to light, and the many debates it has raised about society’s collective responsibility. So, how can we continue to fight against this dynamic of violence which seems to be a system in our patriarchal society, and which was brought to light by this landmark trial? Between misandry, the education of the young and masculinist backlash, the subject never ceases to raise questions.

Illustrated journal by Benoit Guillaume
Moderator: François Saltiel
Featuring Catherine Dufour (computer scientist and writer) and Yannick Rumpala (associate professor of political science at the University of Nice Côte d’Azur)
Featuring Elise Vanriest-Dabek, heritage curator and head of the Department of Collections and Documentary Resources at Mucem
Dystopia, a devastated planet, the search for Planet B, societies under widespread surveillance. Green utopia, women in power, self-management, simplicity.
Science fiction narratives fuel our imaginations and help us envision the future.
Prophecy, an outlet, or a wake-up call? Catastrophism or optimism? What kind(s) of science fiction do we need today to envision tomorrow?

Co-published by Mucem and Atelier EXB
344 pages
17 x 22 cm
ISBN 978-2-36511-456-1

Kathryn Weir, Hélia Paukner, and Enguerrand Lascols.

Enguerrand Lascols, Hélia Paukner, and Kathryn Weir.

In June 1831, an underwater volcanic eruption between Sicily, Tunisia, and Libya gave rise to a small, barren island made of ash. While sailors and residents of the nearby coasts feared the awakening of a monster, the new territory piqued the curiosity of scientists and the greed of European powers, who sought to claim its strategic position. The competition, however, was short-lived: six months later, the ephemeral island—named “Ferdinandea” by the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies—sank back beneath the waves of the Mediterranean.

A video artist, visual artist, storyteller, and filmmaker, Clément Cogitore draws on this historical and geological phenomenon as the starting point for an empirical work of fiction. Based on historical research and speculative projections, his “Ferdinandea” series chronicles the emergence and disappearance of the volcanic island in a multimedia installation that brings together 16mm films, videos, photographs, and historical documents. The exhibition catalog, designed as an artist’s book, unfolds a visual narrative bordering on the dystopian, inviting the reader on a dreamlike and metaphorical journey. At the heart of the book, an unpublished short story by Tristan Garcia underscores the fictional nature of the work.