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“Bîranîn” (Memory) exhibition: Kurdistan through the eyes of Nesali journalists. Photos, documentaries & behind-the-scenes fieldwork. Screening on Sept. 10.
The Bîranîn exhibition project (“Memory” in Kurdish) is a photography and documentary exhibition conceived by Alice Moritz and Nesrine Cherifati, journalists and founders of the independent media outlet Nesali. The result of three months of reporting in northern Kurdistan (Bakur in Kurdish, located in southeastern Turkey), the exhibition accompanies a series of documentaries and articles about the Kurdish question published online. It brings together memories from a journey and offers a complementary perspective on the finished productions by revealing the behind-the-scenes realities of journalistic work: encounters, travel, observations, conversations, everyday moments, and the human connections that make reporting possible, while placing these experiences within the region's complex sociopolitical reality. The installation is structured around a map of Kurdistan tracing our route. Each stage of the journey is linked to a selection of photographs illustrating the places we traveled through, the people we met, and the subjects we explored. These images engage in dialogue with the documentaries produced in the field, offering visitors a journey that connects places, stories, and memories. They capture moments of life that may seem ordinary to those experiencing them, but that shaped our understanding of the territory. By sharing them, we invite visitors to explore these fragments of memory and discover the stories they hold. These images engage in dialogue with the documentaries produced in the field, which can be viewed via a QR code, offering visitors an interactive journey connecting reports with memories from the field. The exhibition invites visitors to immerse themselves in contemporary Kurdistan through the eyes of two field journalists, with cartography, photography, and documentary filmmaking combining to create a sensitive record of the journey, the encounters, and the realities they experienced. Statement of intent This exhibition grew out of a simple observation: when a report is published, much of the story disappears. For three months, we traveled through northern Kurdistan to produce a series of documentaries about the Kurdish question, covering political and social struggles, changes affecting the territory, cultural practices, and the memories that run through the region. From the city of Van, located around one hundred kilometers from the Iranian border, we also worked on several stories related to Iran, particularly the regime's repression and its consequences for younger generations. Behind every film lie hundreds of hours in the field and kilometers traveled, as well as invitations to share tea, nights spent in local people's homes, weddings, spontaneous conversations, and periods of waiting that never appear in the finished productions. This invisible material is what sustains and makes journalistic work possible, and it is what we want to highlight through this exhibition. Bîranîn, which means “Memory” in Kurdish, grew out of this desire to preserve traces of these moments. Each photograph captures a moment that may seem ordinary to those experiencing it, but that became precious in our own journey. These images bear witness to what develops between two interviews, along a road, over a meal, or through a simple conversation: a relationship, an emotion, a deeper understanding of a territory. The photographs presented here are therefore traces of our documentaries. They reveal what video editing leaves out: the encounters that open the doors to a territory, the connections built through conversations, the suspended moments between two reporting assignments, and the human dimension of field journalism. Through Bîranîn, we share these fragments of memory with visitors. Each image opens the door to a broader story that can be explored further through the documentaries and reports connected to our route. The photographs thus become the entry point to a broader narrative in which journalism, memory, and territory complement one another. Documentary screening & discussion - Screening of excerpts from Nesali documentaries, followed by a discussion with Azadî, a Franco-Kurdish activist and writer, and (other speakers to be confirmed). An opportunity to discuss the issues explored in the exhibition in greater depth. Date Thursday, September 10, 2026 Time 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Admission Free How to get there Maison de la Conversation 10-12 rue Maurice Grimaud, 75018 Paris Public transportation recommended Metro: lines 4 (Porte de Clignancourt) or 13 (Porte de Saint-Ouen) Tram: T3B, Angélique Compoint – Porte de Montmartre stop Bus: lines 60 and 95, René Binet stop Instagram: @iciconversation Website: maisondelaconversation.org
Source: paris.fr — photo: Maison de la Conversation