2023nanterreChemin de l’Îlefrance

nt vrai

In the Chemin de l'Île, young people from Nanterre Ville photograph their estates, the 5 Tours, the Acacias, the Zilinas and the Kokos, and write about what they love and what they would like to change.

formats: point of view
mediums: photography sound writing
place: nanterre · Chemin de l’Île
partners: 4 Chemins
Espace jeunesse
Cerise
public presentation: Multi-site exhibition in public space and at the partner organizations.

with

Abdeljalil, Abdelrahmane, Absamat, Adem, Afnan, Amine, Assa, Audrey, Aymen B., Aymen C., Ayoub, Bel-Kheir, Bouba, Fadhela, Fatma, Gilles, Ilies, Julie, Léa, Mayssa, Mohamed Ali, Mustapha, Noha, Noorhane, Oumou, Ousmane, Ramy, Rania, Riad, Salimata, Samia, Selma, Wassim, Wissem, Yassine, Youssef

“Our neighborhood is called Nanterre Ville (NTV) and it's where we grew up. There are four estates in Nanterre Ville: the 5 Tours, the Acacias, the Zilinas and the Kokos. Here, we all stick together, except on the football pitch.” That is how the text written by the young people for their exhibition begins.

In November and December 2023, with 4 Chemins, Cerise and the Espace jeunesse, they photographed the towers, the stairwells, the city court, the schools, the AMJ of the past and today's, recorded sounds and wrote. They say what they love: the associations, the evening events, the outreach rounds, the Espace jeunesse “where we are all the time”. And what they would change: renovate the sports grounds, lifts that work, a paddling pool, “because we would like the next generations to live in conditions that allow them a better life than ours”.

the exhibition

nt vrai, wall by wall

Ten panels of photographs titled and narrated by the young people: the 5 Tours, Noirmoutier, the city court, the AMJ, tower 4 and the messages written on the walls.

wall 01

le bât

In this photo, I see a tower. It's tall. The sky was blue.

le foyer

I see windows and clothes hanging out. I chose this photo because my grandpa lives here. One day there was a fire, and the firefighters came. A dragon breathed fire and the house burned down.

un bâtiment

I really like the windows on this building.

wall 02

cages d’escaliers

Photos of the stairs of the five towers. I chose this photo because it's stylish!

noirmoutier

We're with my mates in the tower before it gets demolished. I chose this photo because Noirmoutier is an iconic tower of the five towers.

les misérables

Between the people's shadows and the orange light, it makes a really beautiful photo, worthy of a scene from the film “Les Misérables”.

wall 03

le city

A place where I played as a kid, now shared with the little ones.

le synthé

Lots of tournaments happened here. We loved it! I nailed everything. Top corner! Step-overs!

jul au quartier

That's my mates and me doing the Jul sign in the Zilis stadium. I chose this photo because it's friendly and it reminds me of my killer tackle in that stadium.

wall 04

henri vallon

It's my school. I have lots of friends here. I came to Henri Vallon in kindergarten. I like break time. I like the after-school center. It's big and there are good meals in the canteen.

voltaire

It's my school. My teacher is called Mr Mouad. I run around with my friends. We've already been on an outing to a garden. I really like it when we play sport and in the playground.

le parc de la bonne humeur

The park was my whole childhood. Every time I have time after school, I go there and play. And I'm always with Kimberlay, and sometimes with Océane.

wall 05

la cité

You can see my mates from the estate.

rue des bons moments

I called the photo that because my friends and I lived our best moments on this street.

vivre ensemble

Because before, we were little. Before, the older ones didn't hang out with the little ones. That's not the case anymore.

wall 06

la grosse tour sombre

Which tower is the darkest? Too dark. There's no life here.

les kokos

A really beautiful neighborhood where we grew up. We had good times together here.

bal

Open or sealed off, they show how empty the tower is. The photo is quite sad. In a lively neighborhood, there's a completely empty tower.

wall 07

l’amj

The AMJ is a place for young people. I spend more time there than at home. So many memories and good times.

l’amj d’avant

A place close to my heart. The old AMJ premises with the new little ones in front. Get the contrast?

le ed frère

Everything has changed here. Only the memories are left.

wall 08

free gaza

I like this photo because there's a big story behind it. The story makes me think of the sad war happening in Palestine.

tremblement de terre

You can see the city court full of earthquakes. I chose this photo because we spend all our days there playing football.

tour 4

There are so many towers like this. We love them all. But everyone has a favorite. The one they live in, of course.

wall 09

l’oiseau

In this photo, you can see my mates and me posing. This photo reminds me of when we played chase and I hid there. I also like this photo because there aren't many structures like this in the neighborhoods.