Exhibition: the Cité de l’architecture, in Paris, tells the story of the heritage threatened by wars

The meeting of architecture and geopolitics

Since the start of the 21st century, heritage has represented a major issue in numerous conflicts. From the Buddhas of Bamiyan, in Afghanistan, to the Theater of Mariupol, in Ukraine, via the Roman remains of Palmyra, in Syria, armed groups deliberately target it and publicize its destruction. To fully understand the scope of these attempts at “cultural cleansing”, we must therefore go beyond the sole aesthetic value of monuments and consider geopolitics. A crossroads of approaches that this very rich exhibition, based on photos, films, but also maps or texts around eleven countries, achieves with great pedagogy.

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