Heritage
Memorial to the abolition of slavery
An urban, political and art project

In the 18th century, Nantes became the most important slave-trading port in France.

On a plant-covered walkway, 2,000 commemorative plaques remind the public of the slave ships that departed from Nantes as well as the major trading ports in Africa and America. A meditative promenade, marked with quotes on the subject of slavery from a variety of sources, runs alongside the Quai de Loire.

By inaugurating this memorial in 2012 – the only one of its kind in Europe – the city affirms its desire to “keep the memory of the past alive and let it be a warning for the future.” (K. Wodiczko and J. Bonder)

Krzysztof Wodiczko received the Hiroshima Art Prize in 1998, which rewards an artist for his/her contribution to world peace every year. Architect and teacher, Julian Bonder, is renowned for his work mixing public space, memory, and mass trauma experienced by populations.

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