France’s culture ministry launches open call for monument commemorating victims of slavery to be installed near the Louvre in Paris

France’s government has launched a project for the installation of a memorial commemorating victims of the slave trade in the Tuileries Gardens close to the Musée du Louvre.

THE idea was well received by the Paris’ Representative Council of France’s Black Associations (Cran), whose honorary president Louis-Georges Tin insisted that “the artist chosen must be of African descent.”
Former French president François Hollande announced a plan to create a slavery memorial and museum in Paris in 2016. Also, in 2018, on the 170th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in French colonies, President Macron stated that “The foundation will put slavery back into the long history of France, from the first French colonial empire to the present day.” Macron confirmed that a slavery memorial would be built in Paris again in May 2019.
Louvre officials will be in charge of the project management of the new monument along with city of Paris representatives who will also be part of the panel.
The French ministry of culture says that “the work of art must be harmoniously integrated into the garden and take into account site constraints.” The application deadline is September 1 and the winner will be announced early next year.