En compagnie de Senghor

On the occasion of the meeting with author Claire Riffard on Thursday 5 November at 18h30 for the publication of her book Dans l'atelier de Léopold Sédar Senghor, Bibliothèque des Batignolles presents the exhibition En compagnie de Senghor: quand la Culture rencontre la diplomatie from 13 October to 31 December 2026.

This exhibition presents a new side of Léopold Sédar Senghor. Not that of the solitary poet writing in the privacy of his bedroom after long walks on the beach, but that of the public figure: deputy meeting his constituents in a Senegalese village, president on an official visit alongside Georges Pompidou, or discovering an artwork in the company of painter Marc Chagall.

The photographs come from the Jean-Gérard Bosio archive. Following Georges Pompidou's recommendation to his friend Senghor, Jean-Gérard Bosio worked alongside the Senegalese president from 1968, with the mission of promoting Senegalese artists and art internationally. In particular, he initiated exhibitions by world-renowned artists (Picasso, Chagall, Soulages, Manessier…) at the Musée Dynamique in Dakar, as well as the Senegalese Art exhibition held at the Grand Palais in Paris in 1974. His archive, opened in 1969, is rich in documents, correspondence, and artworks that make it a first-rate literary and artistic collection.

The exhibition was previously staged at the CNRS Pouchet Site as well as the Cité Universitaire before moving to our library.