The Maison was founded by a multi-ethnic cultural association which set up the centre as an autonomous space of cultural production with and for local people. Their interest was in researching ‘hidden history’: the colonial past, collaboration in the Second World War, racism and torture in the Algerian War of Independence, racism towards gypsies - subjects which have prevented second generation immigrants from learning of their parents’ history and from which French school children have been kept in ignorance.
So the collective seeks to challenge collective memory and change it, making it more critical and inclusive. It also responds to needs expressed by the public, e.g. a school teacher who sought to open up these taboo subjects. They have adopted a non-ethnic, cultural approach, in the anthropological sense of finding what is shared but working through passages/pathways/routes which imply identity is not fixed but a meeting of differences – ‘a post-colonial métissage’. This is summed up in the ethos: “We wanted to work with common humanity”
The Maison des Passages association was created by a collective of individuals and groups. It is a space of cultural and artistic diffusion and production dedicated to the interculturality and is open to all in the historic heart of Lyon. Its main objective is to give tools for the understanding of the world, past and present. It organizes:
- cultural events where people of different cultural backgrounds can meet and interact
- participatory projects based on shared activity : artistic, cultural, workshops, conference...
- training in interculturality, cross-cultural awareness and competence to professionals and city council officers...
- events to debate discrimination and racism
- research, colloquiums, and a library. Concerned with various aspects of cultural diversity.
