To look at the world is to experience its diversity

MEMORY OF THE INDIAN OCEAN

Scattered, little known and fragile, Indian Ocean images open a door to the past. Drawings, watercolours, paintings, engravings and photographs put the kaleidoscope of humanity and its cultures on show in La Reunion, a place at the crossroads of different people. Images preserved by families, collectors, businesses, clubs and institutions offer an irreplaceable historical source, wherever written archives are silent and memories are lost.

WE PROMOTE, WE COLLECT, WE OFFER

With this Image Library, we want to:

Permanently promote
the Indian Ocean iconography

Offer tools for knowledge, study and creativity to everybody

Renew the relationship
between research, art and culture

Prioritise a rigorous scientific approach

Overcome geographical distance

Encourage the best access to information

Develop a wide network of exchange

Bring together partners from public and private institutions in France and internationally on a single platform

BUILDING TOGETHER

The cultural institutions of the French Overseas Department of La Reunion are the rightful custodians of a collection of tens of thousands of images. With the launch of the Indian Ocean historic image library, they have created a digital image portal for the future.

Building the Indian Ocean digital image library together, in partnership with everyone who wishes it to grow, will give the Indian Ocean its place in the worldwide movement to push back the boundaries of knowledge.