by: Bonnet Guilbaud Natacha | 22 March 2021
Founded in 1991 in Nantes as a result of the Anneaux de la Mémoire exhibition, the association’s rationale is to promote historical knowledge, defend cultural diversity and openness to the world and to work on memories, particularly those related to slavery and the western slave trade. With a view to promoting balanced and reciprocal exchanges between African, American and European societies, it sets up cultural projects at the international level, in collaboration with local organisations.
Les Anneaux de la Mémoire creates and develops cultural, heritage tourism and educational projects on these bases. Over the past 25 years, the association has formed close links with the three continents and today is recognised internationally for its approach to history and memories of the African slave trade.
Les Anneaux de la Mémoire works in different ways with different audiences (publications, conferences, exhibitions, artistic and cultural projects, etc.) to foster cultural outreach around the dissemination of historical knowledge.
In 2013, the association refocused some of its projects on the Loire with the Loire des Lumières programme, the aim of which was to promote the history and heritage of the Loire regions from the 17th to the 19th century around the concepts of memory and heritage. In 2015 it initiated the TOSTEM (Cultural Tourism through the Footsteps of Slavery) project in collaboration with Haiti, Cameroon, Senegal and Antigua & Barbuda.
