N.A.R.D.A.L.
N.A.R.D.A.L. (New Approach to Research on Afro-descendant Dynamics in Connection) focuses on the voices, thoughts, and trajectories of women from African and Afro-descendant worlds. This program is part of a pluralistic practice of creation, transmission, and collective reflection.
N.A.R.D.A.L. pays tribute to the pioneering role played by the Nardal sisters in the genesis of the Négritude movement, particularly through the salons de pensée (thought salons) they organized in Clamart, where Caribbean and African students committed to revaluing the Black experience came together.
The program continues this legacy by creating a space for reflection, creativity, and female empowerment in the present, in dialogue with the contemporary dynamics affecting Afro-descendant societies.
White cards and contemporary salons
Inspired by these intellectual and social dynamics, N.A.R.D.A.L. is based on an interdisciplinary approach. Each edition takes the form of a series of carte blanche projects entrusted to influential women from Africa and its diasporas—artists, researchers, activists, and professionals from various fields.
During a three-day weekend, each participant is invited to "host a salon" on a theme that is dear to her, shaping her own program of discussions, round tables, performances, readings, and concerts. This format encourages collective reflection, exploration of Afro-descendant narratives, and questioning of contemporary realities.
Reinvented spaces and sociability
The immersive scenography reinvents the idea of a salon by taking over spaces symbolic of Afro-diasporic sociability—hair salons, popular markets, sound system stages, and urban areas—transformed for the occasion into lively settings for dialogue and exchange.
Each guest chooses the venue that best suits her vision, helping to make these moments of sharing sensitive, critical, and collective experiences.
A catalog as an archive
Each weekend begins with the presentation of a manifesto text, in the language and format chosen by the guest. These manifestos constitute a collection of micro-publications which, at the end of the season, will be compiled into a summary catalog. The latter documents the reflections, exchanges, and explorations that have shaped this unique experience.
A N.A.R.D.A.L. lounge
Each N.A.R.D.A.L. salon takes place over three days and focuses on a theme chosen by the guest of honor. The program is designed to be a space for creation, dialogue, and thought, combining meetings and discussions, performances and readings, debates, and interdisciplinary explorations.
The spaces invested—from hair salons to popular markets, from DJ stages to urban areas—become lively places for socializing, listening, and sharing, welcoming diverse audiences in a spirit of openness and sharing.
