Vanuatu, archipel sous tension. Premières photographies (1885-1895) dans les collections du musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac

Exhibition: Vanuatu, archipel sous tension. Premières photographies (1885-1895) dans les collections du musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac

From 15 October 2026 to 5 April 2027

At the end of the 19th century, French and British vie for sovereignty over the archipelago of the New Hebrides, future Vanuatu, close to New Caledonia. This colonial rivalry, fueled by religious missions and commercial interests, led to a unique regime of co-administration: a Franco-British condominium (1906 to 1980) until independence.

Composed of albums, prints inherited from old collections or recently acquired collections, this presentation brings together the oldest photographs of Vanuatu preserved by the museum. Made in the space of a decade, between 1885 and 1895, by operators with varied backgrounds – French and British, amateurs or professionals – these photographs show the territory and communities ni-Vanuatu in a context of colonial tensions.

Curators: Carine Peltier-Caroff, responsible for the iconothèque, musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac and Marie Durand, Lecturer in Anthropology at the Institute of Ethnology of the Université de Strasbourg, Interdisciplinary Laboratory in Cultural Studies (UMR7069).