The Féminothèque installation is inspired by the lives and work of the Nardal sisters whose home in Clamart became an important meeting place for Black intellectuals, writers, and artists during the 1920s and 30s. Through their literary salon, the Nardal sisters created a space for conversation, cultural exchange, and political reflection at a time when Black women’s voices were rarely recognized. Their gatherings connected people from Africa, the Caribbean, the US, and Europe, making room to share experiences of colonialism, displacement, identity, and belonging. Paulette Nardal’s writing and intellectual work, as well as the sisters’ involvement in La Revue du monde noir, a periodical with a focus on anti-colonial and anti-imperialist writing, contributed significantly to the ideas that would later shape the Négritude movement. 

Féminothèque continues this legacy by bringing together books, zines, poetry, archives, oral histories, and other forms of media, curated together with Haus der Kulturen der Welt’s in-house bookshop, the Archive Books Souq. Among others, the installation features contributions from the publishing house Ròt-Bò-Krik and 1949—the library of women’s writing from Africa and the Black world founded by Edwige Dro.