A group of people, members of 14 associations of victims of terrorism, joined forces to commission a work of art paying tribute to all the victims of attacks committed on French soil since 1974, as well as French victims of attacks carried out abroad.
A National Museum and Memorial of Terrorism is being created in Suresnes, on the site of the former open-air school designed by architects Bodoin and Lodz in the 1930s, now fully listed as a historic monument. The members of the public interest group (GIP) overseeing the project wished to entrust the reflection on what the memorial should be to the associations of victims of terrorism. To facilitate this dialogue, the New Patrons initiative was engaged to structure the process and serve as a mediator between the representatives of the various associations.
The memorial will not commemorate the victims of any single attack, but rather all those who have lost their lives in attacks on French soil since 1974, regardless of nationality, as well as French victims of attacks abroad. It will host the commemoration on 11 March, the National Day of Tribute to Victims of Terrorism, as well as other ceremonies.
A group of around twenty commissioners (representing 14 associations) met with the mediator, Mari Linnman, on eight occasions in 2023 to draw up a brief. This brief will form the basis of a competition held as part of the ‘1% for Art’ scheme.
