Archives / Dormance — symposium, exhibition, screenings

Launched in June of the year 2026, Archives / Dormance is a series of events consisting of workshops, artist residencies, and a closing symposium, complemented by a film program and an exhibition. 

In botany, dormancy refers to the temporary resting state of a seed or bud, during which its development is suspended until conditions become favorable. Presented by ÉSACM—École Supérieure d’Art de Clermont Métropole—and part of the 2026 Mediterranean Season , this program brings together theoretical reflections and practical approaches to rethink how archives are created and promoted in the arts.

It takes as its starting point the research of Sido Lansari, an artist and researcher at the ÉSACM Research Cooperative, who conceived the program. This series is based on two observations that, although they pertain to very different practices and contexts, echo one another. In Morocco, the preservation of archives and cultural heritage remains precarious, leaving a significant portion of history vulnerable to disappearance, confiscation, or erasure. 

In France, LGBTQIA+ history remains marked by the limited representation of the stories and experiences of people from the Maghreb and, more broadly, from the Mediterranean region. On both sides, entire swaths of memory are thus barred from entering the historical narrative: archives that have not been preserved, have disappeared, or remain difficult to access; and experiences that, although they existed, remain underrepresented in existing collections and narratives. 

It is by comparing these two that Archives / Dormance aims to foster dialogue among artists, researchers, and practitioners from various fields in order to explore the forms that have emerged in response to these incomplete, absent, or invisible, and to examine the conditions for their reactivation, transmission, and narrative construction. 

↘︎ The 2026 Mediterranean Season is organized by the Institut français under the general curatorship of Julie Kretzschmar. It is supported by the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture, in collaboration with the Interministerial Delegation for the Mediterranean.