Résistances & Désobéissances

Prison as a place where forms of resistance and defiance are forged

The Citadelle de Marseille, a cultural project based in the upper part of Fort Saint-Nicolas – a former garrison fort and military prison – organised this residency programme for two artists in partnership with several French and Tunisian organisations: artistic support organisations focused on creation in the digital environment (the Kamel Lazaar Foundation, Museum Lab, CHRONIQUES), research institutes (IREMAM, IRMC), and the Institut Français Tunisie.

As part of the ‘Saison Méditerranée’ programme launched by the Institut français, under the general curatorship of Julie Kretzschmar, ‘Résistances et Désobéissances’ took as its starting point the imprisonment, between 1939 and 1942 at the Citadele de Marseille, of Habib Bourguiba, leader of the Tunisian independence movement who later became the first president of independent Tunisia. A complex and sometimes controversial figure, he was imprisoned on several occasions alongside members of the Néo-Destour party prior to the country’s independence. Drawing on this history, the project explored the prison as a place where forms of resistance and disobedience were forged. Given the scarcity of archives preserved on the site, the Citadel combined its heritage with existing academic research in order to piece together fragments of memory. The artistic creation thus provided an opportunity to examine intangible archives and the processes through which citizens reclaim places marked by confinement and oppression.

A residency programme between France and Tunisia

The programme was aimed at one French artist and one Tunisian artist interested in alternative methods of archival collection, decolonial approaches, issues of memory linked to polyphony, and the possibilities offered by digital media. It also aimed to encourage the involvement of diasporas and to experiment with new ways of creating shared heritage.

Hugo Mir-Valette was therefore hosted in Tunis at the B7L9 art centre run by the Kamel Lazaar Foundation, with support from Museum Lab. Saber Zammouri was hosted in Marseille at La Citadelle, with support from CHRONIQUES.

The works produced as part of this residency were presented at the Citadelle to mark the opening of the Mediterranean Season on 16 and 17 May 2026. They remained on display until mid-October 2026, allowing the public to discover the results of this artistic and historical research carried out between Marseille and Tunis.

The conference

To further the project and bring together different perspectives, we organised a symposium on 9 October at the Palais du Pharo, focusing on the former Tunisian president Habib Bourguiba. Bringing together historians, political scientists and specialists in contemporary Tunisia, the event provided an opportunity to examine his experience in prison, the development of his political leadership, and the political and commemorative legacies of Bourguibism.

A project organised by the Citadelle de Marseille, as part of the 2026 Mediterranean Season, initiated by the Institut Français, under the general curatorship of Julie Kretzschmar and in partnership with the Kamel Lazaar Foundation, Museum Lab, CHRONIQUES, IREMAM, the Institut Français in Tunisia and the IRMC.

With the support of: the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture.