On 22 and 23 June 2026, the Nantes Institute for Advanced Study will host Diaspo'Roots, a public event showcasing work on cultural commons, diasporic transmission, and collective memory within Nantes' Senegalese communities.
Led by Ma-Woury Cissé, who was welcomed to the Institute as a visiting researcher between January and June 2026 for a series of research and creative residencies, the event brings together researchers, community organisers, local residents, artists, and witnesses around a central question: how do everyday practices, informal forms of solidarity, and shared memories contribute to the making of the commons?
Through film screenings, roundtable discussions, participatory workshops, and a capsule exhibition, Diaspo'Roots creates a space for dialogue between academic research, personal narratives, and lived experience in the field.
Monday, 22 June, 5:00 pm – Exhibition opening
Tuesday, 23 June, 9:00 am – 4:30 pm – Film screening, roundtable discussion, and workshops
Despite the heatwave, all Diaspo'Roots events will take place as scheduled at the Nantes Institute for Advanced Study.
Institut d'études avancées de Nantes
5, Allée Jacques Berque
44000 Nantes
Free admission, open to all. Registration required.
Monday, 22 June, 5:00 pm
Capsule Exhibition: Au temps des yenduu nantais
Presented as the opening event for the programme on 23 June, the capsule exhibition Au temps des yenduu nantais brings together archival photographs, objects, and soundscapes from Nantes' Senegalese community.
In Wolof, yenduu means "the day" and, by extension, refers to the time spent together sharing a meal.
Through these fragments of memory, the exhibition explores how such gatherings have sustained a shared cultural commons within Nantes' Senegalese diaspora, from the 1980s to the present day.
Please bring headphones to listen to the sound recordings featured throughout the exhibition.
Tuesday, 23 June, 9:00 am – 4:30 pm
Programme
The day begins at 9:00 am with a welcome coffee.
At 9:30 am, Ma-Woury Cissé and Sophie Halart will open the event with a conversation introducing the research project and the Diaspo'Roots initiative, developed in part during Ma-Woury Cissé's residency at the Institute.
The morning continues with the screening of a documentary short film currently in production, focusing on recently arrived women from the Senegalese community. The film draws on interviews and personal narratives gathered during the research-creation residencies.
This will be followed by a roundtable discussion bringing together speakers engaged with questions of memory, transmission, and collective organisation:
- Nathalie Bondetti, author of Mémoires Tissées
- Khady Sakho Niang, migration and gender consultant, former President of FORIM, the French network of solidarity diaspora organisations
- Aminata Sylla, founder of Chef It Up, the first in-home batch-cooking platform
The discussion will be moderated by Ma-Woury Cissé.
A convivial lunch featuring Senegalese and international flavours, prepared by Le Malakouleur, the community restaurant in Nantes' Malakoff district, will provide an opportunity to continue the conversations informally.
From 1:30 pm, the afternoon will take a more participatory format, beginning with a collective framing session followed by workshops and discussion circles on transmission, intangible heritage, and cultural resistance, facilitated by Maestro Vince.
These exchanges invite participants to share experiences, stories, and perspectives on the commons today: What is passed on? What disappears? Which forms of solidarity endure, and which are being reinvented?
The day will conclude with a special tribute to several women from the Ambitions Jeunesses association, followed by closing reflections shared by Sophie Halart and Ma-Woury Cissé, before a closing reception open to all.
Alongside the Event
Literary Evening, 22 June 2026, 7:00 pm
On the eve of the main event, the Institute will also host an informal literary evening (originally planned to take place at Le Malakouleur, the temporary community venue on Place Rosa Parks in the Malakoff district). Conceived as an opportunity to connect with the local neighbourhood, the evening serves as an invitation to the following day's programme at the Institute.
Organised in partnership with the Ambitions Jeunesses association, the event will feature a presentation of Nathalie Bondetti's book Mémoires Tissées, followed by a book signing and sales session.
