As part of the opening week of the exhibition "Photographing Algeria" from February 28 to July 13, 2019 at IMA-Tourcoing
A committed historian, Benjamin Stora has never ceased to heal the wounds opened by the Algerian War by practicing an innovative history open far beyond the academic field. Born in French Algeria, in the Jewish community of Constantine, Benjamin Stora was confronted with war and exile at a very young age. His research over the past 40 years aims to overcome the multiple traumas and resentments that fuel a war of memories by bringing a deep knowledge and understanding of this episode.
Today, Benjamin Stora is Chairman of the Orientation Council of the National Museum of the History of Immigration, the main lender of the exhibition «Photographing Algeria». The strength of his work has an effect on the new generation of researchers that he is leading in his wake: he has directed to date about twenty theses.
Anxious to overcome a violent history by gathering memories without confronting them, his work on the past illuminates the current political landscapes in France as in Algeria. Benjamin Stora is undoubtedly one of the pillars of the bridge that connects the two countries.
Great witness of this Algerian season, Benjamin Stora will exchange with Naïma Yahi, historian specializing in North African immigration and director of the Pangée Network.