The exhibition “Mapping Memory- Atlas of Rwandan Life Stories” took place at the Center of Oral History and Digital Storytelling (COHDS) and Acts of Listening Lab (ALLab) of Concordia University from April 28 to May 18, 2023. This exhibition received more than 260 visitors.
The exhibition aimed to offer an immersion into the world of memory maps. It presented a selection of maps from 21 life stories of Rwandan exiles collected by the Center of Oral History and Digital Storytelling and Page Rwandan Association from 2009 to 2012. These stories were mapped during the years 2017 and 2022 using two different and complementary cartographic approaches presented in two different rooms of the exhibition: (1) The Digital Atlas of Rwandan Life Stories: This atlas presented the maps of 21 life stories produced by Atlascine. This open-source free cartographic tool was specifically designed for this project. This online Atlas provided a spatial synthesis of each life story, connected and structured places with themes, and allowed listeners to navigate within each story creating a dialogue between the storyteller and the listener. (2) The subjective Atlas: This Atlas is made of hand-drawn and hand-painted maps offering an emotional and intimate voyage into the story of Emannuelle Kayiganwa. While the digital Atlas of Rwanda invited us to explore the surface of these 21 life stories, the subjective Atlas immersed us into the depth of one specific story.
By presenting these two complementing Atlases, the exhibition followed three main objectives: (1) sharing the memories of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda with a range of audiences, in particular with students and the youth of the Rwandan community, (2) reflecting on the potentials and limits of maps for representing memories by creating a safe and welcoming space of dialogue and exchange between academia and the community, and (3) promoting the results of several years of research on the relationship between maps and memories.
This exhibition was curated by Sébastien Caquard and Élise Olmedo, in collaboration with Page Rwanda Association of Montréal and more particularly with Emmanuelle Kayiganwa, Marie-Josée Gicali and Sandra Gasana who organized the personalized tours of the exhibition. This exhibition was made possible with the help of many people: Sarah Bengle (graphic design of the exhibition and scenography), Marie Lavorel (Scenography), Sepideh Shahamati (selection of content and video editing), Kelley O'Rourke (translation and editing), Vitalyi Bulychev (video editing and technical support), Elliot Lordon (design and editing), Piyusha Chatterjee (logistical support), and Lisa Ndejuru (psychological support).
We would like to express our thanks to the Core Technical Center of Concordia University’s Library, Exarmas and the Passages Laboratory of Bordeaux Montaigne University (France). Thank you to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the CANARIE fund and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Concordia University for their financial support. Finally, we are grateful to the Page Rwanda association co-directed by Richard Kabala and Bertin Muhizi and to all the community members who shared their stories.
This exhibition is presented on the non-ceded Kanien’kehá:ka territory. It is envisioned to respect the links with the past, present and future with various indigenous peoples, the Rwandan community and all the other groups residing in Tiohtiá:ke / Montréal.