Hope-bearing walls, portraits revealed
For 40 years, the BNP Paribas Foundation has been supporting those tirelessly working on the ground to create a better, more caring, and more sustainable society. How do we do this? By giving power to those who take action. And giving them power includes putting them in the spotlight.
Showcasing those who take action
On the occasion of our 40th anniversary, the BNP Paribas Foundation has chosen a concrete illustration of what “giving power to those who take action” means: supporting the people who are making a difference. This of course involves material support and funding, but it also involves sharing the power of media visibility that a corporate foundation such as ours – arising from a major bank – can offer them.
By supporting our partners and their actions, we strive to give visibility to the invisible, and a voice to those who struggle to be heard. In line with our convictions –
- Give confidence in the future by supporting equal opportunities programmes
- Understand and protect the planet by supporting research on climate and biodiversity
- Create wonder by supporting artistic creation and access to culture for all
– we were inspired to find a new way to showcase everyday heroes who are shifting the needle and making a positive impact in their local area.
For 40 years, the BNP Paribas Foundation has been giving power to those who take action to provide concrete solutions that promote equal opportunities, protect the environment or advance culture. Our mission is to identify, bring together and, above all, raise awareness of the talented people working on innovative, high-impact projects. As we celebrate our 40th anniversary, we want to celebrate the committed people that we support. Our partners are inspiring and impactful and are offering hope on the ground, where they are in close contact with the needs of vulnerable populations. Showcasing their portraits is our way of giving them the power of media impact.
Isabelle Giordano, Head of Group Philanthropy and General Delegate of the BNP Paribas Foundation.
An open-air exhibition
The BNP Paribas Foundation wants to shine a light on the individuals making a difference in the places where they are taking action and that are close to their hearts.
We’ve chosen to do this by honouring them through a major public art project: a series of street art murals that celebrate the impact of those behind the initiatives supported by the Foundation.
To reflect our inspiring partners, we decided to collaborate with equally colourful street artists to create larger-than-life portraits that will be unveiled in the coming months in public spaces all over France, from the façades of BNP Paribas buildings to train stations.
The aim: to give these changemakers the attention they deserve!
A lasting tribute
Each artwork will be displayed for at least six months, with the first unveiled on 26 September in Pantin (in greater Paris):
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Following this launch, new murals will be progressively pop up to celebrate the citizens we support and to make manifest their unwavering commitment, as well as demonstrating our commitment to them.
Discover the murals
Les Grands Moulins de Pantin (greater Paris)
The first mural in the series is a portrait of Zahia Ziouani, a conductor whose career has been driven by perseverance and passion.
She grew up in Pantin and was first introduced to classical music by her music-loving parents. In 1998, at the age of just 20, after studying with the Romanian conductor Sergiu Celibidache, she decided to create the Orchestre Symphonique Divertimento in Stains, an urban area north of Paris. Through this orchestra, she is bringing classical music to working-class suburbs, where access to culture can be difficult – particularly ‘high’ culture such as classical music.
Zahia has succeeded in creating a bridge between these two seemingly contrasting worlds: low-income neighbourhoods and classical music. Motivated by a desire to pass on her knowledge, she teaches music, which she believes has the power to inspire and to break down both spatial and psychological barriers.
“I’m so proud to see this work of art in the centre of the area where I grew up. It’s a powerful message for everyone: excellence is accessible whatever your background. Beyond that, it’s a strong message of hope for the people of Pantin and the area of Seine-Saint-Denis, which is home to so much talent. The support provided by the BNP Paribas Foundation over the long term is helping to raise the profile of those working to promote equal opportunities and culture on the ground where they live.” – Zahia Ziouani, Conductor
The Foundation has supported Zahia since 2015 (through Projet Banlieues and then in the framework of our actions to promote access to culture for all), and we have chosen to pay tribute to her where she grew up – Pantin. Through the brush of street artist Sébastien Bouchard, Zahia is portrayed in a monumental mural that embodies her bold and inspiring journey. Her face, illuminated by vivid colours, reflects the energy and determination that have driven her throughout her career. A specialist of large formats, Sébastien uses colour and volume to capture the essence of the fire that fuels the vision of this one-of-a-kind conductor.
The work of Sébastien Bouchard highlights not only the conductor’s commitment, but also the link between urban and high culture, connecting the two worlds that Zahia strives to unite. The mural displayed by the Foundation on the façade of the BNP Paribas ‘Asia’ building at the Grands Moulins de Pantin is a living and vibrant tribute to her heritage, a bridge between generations, and an invitation to believe in the power of art to change lives.
“By commissioning this portrait, the BNP Paribas Foundation gave me the opportunity to meet Zahia Ziouani, a woman of conviction, commitment and inspiration. I wanted to represent her radiance and evoke her first name, which means ‘luminous’. As a muralist with a fascination for representing the human figure and facial and physical expression, Zahia is a model whose poetic potential I saw straight away.” – Sébastien Bouchard, street artist
Almost six months were needed to complete the mural, from the concept sketch to the execution and installation (which required a week in itself). It will be on display from 26 September 2024 to March 2025 : throwback to the inauguration of the portrait of Zahia Ziouani at the Grands Moulins de Pantin.
Angers train station
The second street mural in our series is a portrait of Diariata N’Diaye, an ‘artivist’ (artist and activist) who has been combatting gender-based and sexual violence for more than 20 years.
Growing up in the Vosges in northeastern France, she was confronted with misogyny in the urban music scene from an early age. At the age of 15, she was forcibly married off during a summer holiday in Senegal. Back in France, she was determined to change her fate: finding the strength to transform her pain into resilience, she rebelled, and this traumatic event marked the starting point of her commitment.
For Diariata N’Diaye, activism and music go hand in hand: she recounts her defiance in music, finding writing a form of therapy. A woman of action whose determination and desire to shift the needle are equal to the challenges she has chosen to take on, she was awarded Chevalière de l’Ordre national du Mérite (a French honour for distinguished achievement) at the age of 35 for her engagement. The artist, slammer, author, and entrepreneur has been one of the emerging figures in the fight against gender-based and sexual violence since 2008.
As a member of the Haut Conseil à l’Égalité (an advisory body on gender equality for the French government), her expertise and innovative violence prevention initiatives aimed at 15–25 year-olds have made her a key figure in raising youth awareness, consulted by the highest international bodies. She is involved in the programmes Jeunes contre le sexisme (‘Young people against sexism’) run by the Observatoire des violences faites aux femmes (‘Observatory of violence against women’) in Seine-Saint-Denis and Jeunes pour l’égalité (‘Youth for gender equality’) in greater Paris.
While she feels she’s not dressed for the part in the highest echelons, her continued work in the field, remaining true to who and how she is, enables her to forge links, particularly with lower-secondary school students. This is the most complicated audience to reach, but also the most important:
“Talking about these issues allows us to identify – at a very early stage – young
victims of violence, who will infortunately end up in violent situations as adults if we don’t protect them. We know where to approach them: in schools. It should be compulsory to discuss these issues with young people” – Diariata N’Diaye, artist et activist
Since 2021, the Foundation has supported the non-profit Resonantes (based in Nantes) founded by Diariata N’Diaye in 2015. We decided to pay tribute to her in that region. Through a partnership with SNCF Gares et Connexions (the organisation that manages France’s rail stations), the brush of muralist Sébastien Bouchard – who also lives and works in Nantes – brings Diariata to life through street art. Her dignified, strong, serious expression engages us; the deep and soothing colours (in keeping with the issues she is invested in) convey the resilience of this activist’s journey, and the sense of purpose that has driven her since adolescence.
A specialist in large-scale formats, Sébastien uses colour and volume not only to pay tribute to Diariata’s commitment, but to illustrate one of her key messages:
« In the face of violence, we all have a role to play. »
The mural unveiled by the Foundation in the train station of Angers Saint-Laud (Angers is a city in the same region as Nantes) is a vibrant means of communication: a bridge between all of us and an open invitation to believe in the power of art to change lives. Painted in three days and completed on 30 October, the mural will overlook the station’s main platform for 5 to 10 years, depending on weather conditions and the state of the wall: teaser of the unveiling of Diariata N’Diaye’s portrait in à Angers.
Stay tuned to discover the other portraits and artists in this larger-than-life street art series! ✨