Exhibition opening ‘The Earth, The Fire, The Water, and The Winds – For a Museum of Errantry with Édouard Glissant’, the pioneering exhibition in France of the Martinican poet and philosopher Édouard Glissant’s (1928–2011) personal art collection.
Exhibition reveals a lesser-known dimension of Glissant’s life: his vision for a museum. He conceived of it not as a monument, but as a space capable of holding art, memories, and intertwined histories without reducing them to colonial frameworks.
Errantry, central to Glissant’s thinking and this vision for a museum, is movement, encounter, and reinvention. It unfolds through the crossing of borders—geographic, linguistic, and historic—and resists the pull toward singular origins or stories. Glissant imagined both the world and the museum as an archipelago: a constellation of islands that live side by side, exchanging while remaining distinct.
Assembled across six decades, Glissant’s personal art collection traces both the beginnings of this museum and the breadth of his intellectual friendships and collaborations. In post-occupation France, particularly through the Surrealist scene and Galerie du Dragon (1955–1995), Glissant encountered artists from Africa, Europe, and the Americas who approached art as a journey of displacement, renewal, and solidarity. He gathered these works not for ownership, but in the spirit of the commons, imagining them as the beginnings of a living archive attentive to relation and difference.
At each stage of its journey, the exhibition reinvents itself, giving rise to new dialogues between works from the Collection and the practices of contemporary artists. These encounters open up fresh perspectives on the contemporary issues, while allowing the artworks to resonate with the Martinican poet and philosopher’s ideas.
At Villa Arson, 18 artists from different generations and various continents are invited to engage in a dialogue with the Collection, shifting its perspectives and offering new ways of interpreting it. It is an invitation to reflect—through these artworks—on the movements, memories, and relationships that shape a world in flux.
At Villa Arson, Nice (FR).
20 avenue Stephen Liegeard, 06100 Nice, FRANCE
From November 12th, 2026 (vernissage) through April 4th, 2027.
Free entrance.
With 38 artists:
. Georges Adéagbo (BJ, 1942)
. Victor Anicet (Martinique / FR, 1938)
. Raphaël Barontini (Guadeloupe / FR / IT, 1984)
. Asma Ben Aïssa (TN, 1992)
. Victor Brauner (RO / FR, 1903-1966)
. Ernest Breleur (Martinique / FR, 1945)
. Rebeca Carapiá (BR, 1988)
. Agustín Cárdenas (CU, 1927-2001)
. Gerardo Chávez (PE, 1937-2025)
. Julien Creuzet (Martinique / FR, 1986)
. dach&zephir – Florian Dach & Dimitri Zephir (Guadeloupe / FR, 1990 & 1992)
. Mónica de Miranda (AO / PT, 1976)
. Manthia Diawara (ML / US, 1953) – Member of EGAF Scientific Committee
. M. Emile (HT)
. Öyvind Fahlström (BR / SE, 1928-1976)
. Geneviève Gallego (FR)
. José Gamarra (UY / FR, 1934)
. Serge Hélénon (Martinique / FR, 1934)
. Valérie John (Martinique / FR, 1964)
. Hamedine Kane (MR / SN / BE / FR, 1983) – Member of EGAF Scientific Committee
. Wifredo Lam (CU / FR, 1902-1982)
. Clémence Lollia Hilaire (Guadeloupe / FR, 1995)
. Federica Matta (FR, 1955) – Member of EGAF Scientific Committee
. Roberto Matta (CL / IT, 1911-2022)
. Paul Mayer (FR, 1922-1998)
. Gabriela Morawetz (PL, 1952-2023)
. Irving Burnell Petlin (US, 1934-2018)
. Cesare Peverelli (IT, 1922-2000)
. Pancho Quilici (VE / FR, 1954)
. Thomias Radin (Guadeloupe / FR / DE, 1993)
. Antonio Seguí (AR / FR, 1934-2022)
. Sylvie Séma Glissant (Martinique / FR, 1958) – Founding Member of EGAF
. Kelly Sinnapah Mary (Guadeloupe / FR, 1981)
. Kemang Wa Lehulere (ZA, 1984)
. Eduardo Zamora (MX, 1942-2023)
. Enrique Zañartu (CL / FR, 1921-2000).
With the participation of
. Estelle Coppolani (La Réunion / FR, 1994) – Member of EGAF Scientific Committee
. Chimurenga collective (ZA).
Curators: Cindy Sissokho and Marie-Ann Yemsi, with a specific tribute to Paulo Miyada and Ana Roman.
Scenography: Franck Houndégla.
Exhibition based on an initiative of ITO – Instituto Tomie Ohtake (BR), co-organized by MACTe – Mémorial ACTe (Guadeloupe), EGAF – Edouard Glissant Art Fund (FR / Martinique) and ITM – Institut du Tout-Monde (FR).
Photo copyrights: Exhibition design by Instituto Tomie Ohtake and Villa Arson. Logo EGAF by Arthur Francietta / Bureau Blindé, based on an original drawing by Édouard Glissant.
