Pap Ndiaye, the Peacemaker at the Head of the Palais de la Porte-Dorée

Why did you leave Sciences Po to become the director of an institution with a turbulent past that now stands at the forefront of migration issues? It’s a direct extension of my academic career. I’m a historian specializing in the minority community, whose place here at the palais de la Porte-Dorée (Golden Gate Palace) is obviously of primary importance. I applied for the job because I felt it was a good fit and I could help make the museum an even more prominent place of culture and reflection than it is today. I’d add that my interest in culture runs deep. I was scientific advisor to the Musée d'Orsay’s 2019 “Black Model” exhibition , which focused on the depiction of Blacks in the visual arts, and recently co-wrote a report on diversity at the Paris Opera with Constance Rivière (editor's note: Secretary-General of the Human Rights Defender). Nevertheless, didn’t this symbol of colonial France put you off? Not at all! To me the palais de la Porte-Dorée is the ideal place to grasp the issue and better understand certain facets of our history, provided, of course, that there’s education,…