The "Banlieues Chéries" (Dearest Suburbs) exhibition, designed by Roll architects, has opened at the Palais de la Porte Dorée museum in Paris, presenting a comprehensive exploration of France's suburban landscapes through over 200 diverse works. The 900-square-meter exhibition space challenges conventional perceptions of suburban areas by showcasing them as complex, culturally rich environments rather than stigmatized spaces.
The exhibition brings together an extensive collection of materials including archival documents, paintings, installations, videos, photographs, and personal testimonies from residents and artists. This multifaceted approach aims to move beyond fixed or negative portrayals of suburban areas, instead revealing these locations as significant sites of memory and cultural transmission. The curated selection, overseen by Hadir Al Koshta, emphasizes the nuanced realities of suburban life in contemporary France.
Architecturally, the exhibition unfolds across three successive sections within the museum's temporary galleries, connected by a distinctive design element created by Roll. A continuous curved wall runs throughout the entire space, serving as both a spatial organizing principle and a narrative thread that guides visitors through the exhibition. The wall's convex shape carries symbolic significance, embodying the diverse imagery and associations connected to suburban areas.
The curved wall specifically represents various suburban typologies and perceptions, including countryside settings, border zones, physical barriers, informal settlements, urban peripheries, and large-scale public housing projects. This architectural metaphor helps visitors understand the complexity and variety of suburban environments while providing a cohesive visual framework for the exhibition's content.
The design incorporates strategic interruptions where installations, objects, and structures cross the curved wall, break its continuous flow, or attach directly to its surface. These deliberate breaks create moments of pause and shifts in rhythm throughout the visitor experience, while also serving specific functional purposes including a dedicated projection area for video works, a press lounge for media events, and space for interactive art installations.
The material palette chosen for the exhibition reflects the concept of "bittersweet suburbs," deliberately playing on contrasts between different textures and tones. Raw, urban-inspired materials are juxtaposed with muted, calming colors that introduce subtle softness within the installation's otherwise strict architectural framework. This interplay between roughness and delicacy extends to the gallery's existing architecture, which features elegant flooring contrasted against an exposed, unfinished ceiling.
The exhibition represents a significant cultural intervention in how suburban spaces are understood and represented in French society. By bringing together such a diverse range of artistic and documentary materials, "Banlieues Chéries" offers visitors multiple perspectives on suburban life, challenging stereotypes while celebrating the cultural richness and complexity of these often-misunderstood environments. The 2025 exhibition continues through the museum's programming as part of ongoing efforts to provide nuanced cultural perspectives on contemporary urban and suburban experiences.
