Mémorial ACTe (Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe)
Dublin Core
Title
Mémorial ACTe (Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe)
Subject
Subject (Topic)
Abolition of slavery
Enslaved persons
Guadeloupe--Pointe-à-Pitre
Plantations
Transatlantic slave trade
Slavery--France
Slavery--Guadeloupe
Sugar--Social Aspects--History
Abolition of slavery
Enslaved persons
Guadeloupe--Pointe-à-Pitre
Plantations
Transatlantic slave trade
Slavery--France
Slavery--Guadeloupe
Sugar--Social Aspects--History
Subject (Object Type)
Building and Structures
Building and Structures
Description
Mémorial ACTe is located on the the site of the former Darboussier sugar refinery on the waterfront in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe.
"The memorial consists of an imposing elongated building that measures 240 meters and is covered with silver grids that represent the roots of the fig trees that grow on the abandoned buildings. At the entrance is the central patio where a metal monument stands representing a giant tree, which symbolizes the roots of Guadeloupean society. The museum, located inside the building, narrates the history of slavery in the Antilles and in America since the beginning of the 17th century through works of art, heritage pieces, video projections, sound environments and interactive tables that testify to the atrocities produced by slavery and human trafficking." ACTe Memorial-CIPDH-UNESCO, https://www.cipdh.gob.ar/memorias-situadas/en/lugar-de-memoria/memorial-acte/.
"The memorial consists of an imposing elongated building that measures 240 meters and is covered with silver grids that represent the roots of the fig trees that grow on the abandoned buildings. At the entrance is the central patio where a metal monument stands representing a giant tree, which symbolizes the roots of Guadeloupean society. The museum, located inside the building, narrates the history of slavery in the Antilles and in America since the beginning of the 17th century through works of art, heritage pieces, video projections, sound environments and interactive tables that testify to the atrocities produced by slavery and human trafficking." ACTe Memorial-CIPDH-UNESCO, https://www.cipdh.gob.ar/memorias-situadas/en/lugar-de-memoria/memorial-acte/.
Creator
Guadeloupean Architectural Workshop:
Pascal Berthelot (BMC)
Jean-Michel Mocka-Célestine (BMC)
Mikael Marton (Atelier Doré/Marton)
Fabien Doré (Atelier Doré/Marton)
Pascal Berthelot (BMC)
Jean-Michel Mocka-Célestine (BMC)
Mikael Marton (Atelier Doré/Marton)
Fabien Doré (Atelier Doré/Marton)
Source
Photograph: Wikimedia Commons
Date
July 7, 2015
Contributor
Luc Reinette, Comité International des Peuples Noirs (CIPN, International Committee of Black People); Victorin Lurel, Regional Council of Guadeloupe; Professor Jacques Adelaid–Merlande; Chambre Régionale des Comptes: Guadeloupe; François Confino and Véronique Rozen (interior); Etanco Group (building envelope)
Format
JPEG
Language
English
Type
Building and Structures
Coverage
Darboussier, 97110, Rue Raspail, Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe
Alternative Title
Centre Caribéen d’Expressions et de Mémoire de la Traite et de l’Esclavage (Caribbean Centre for Expressions and Memory of the Slave Trade and Slavery)
Extent
Building: 83,958 sq. ft (7,800m²)
Gardens surrounding the museum: 5 acres (20,234m²)
Gardens surrounding the museum: 5 acres (20,234m²)
Medium
Black granite; Aluminum; Stainless steel
Bibliographic Citation
CIPDH-UNESCO. "ACTe Memorial." Memorias Situadas: Sites of Memory Related to Serious Human Rights Violations. Accessed July 17, 2024. https://www.cipdh.gob.ar/memorias-situadas/en/lugar-de-memoria/memorial-acte/.
Reffin, Alice. "Mémorial ACTe (Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe)" Contested Histories Occasional Paper XV (June 2025). Accessed February 8, 2026. https://contestedhistories.org/wp-content/uploads/OPXV_Memorial-Acte-Guadeloupe.pdf
Viala, Fabienne. "The Memorial ACTe." In Postcolonial Realms of Memory: Sites and Symbols in Modern France, eds. Etienne Achille, Charles Forsdick, and Lydie Moudileno, 186-194. Liverpool University Press, 2020.
Gosson, Renée. "Breaking Museal Tradition: Guadeloupe's Mémorial ACTe and the Scenography of Slavery." Histoire Sociale/Social History 53, no. 107 (May 2020): 179-194.
Rights Holder
Renée Ater
Still Image Item Type Metadata
Original Format
Building
Physical Dimensions
Building: 83,958 sq. ft (7,800m²)
Gardens surrounding the museum: 5 acres (20,234m²)
Gardens surrounding the museum: 5 acres (20,234m²)
Collection
Citation
Guadeloupean Architectural Workshop: Pascal Berthelot (BMC) Jean-Michel Mocka-Célestine (BMC)Mikael Marton (Atelier Doré/Marton) Fabien Doré (Atelier Doré/Marton), “Mémorial ACTe (Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe),” Contemporary Monuments to the Slave Past, accessed October 1, 2026, https://slaverymonuments.org/items/show/1144.