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CULTURAL SITES, EVENTS & EXHIBITIONS
- COLLECTION PINAULT PARIS – BOURSE DE COMMERCE
- New museum
- Paris, Île-de-France
- 23 January 2021 (postponed from 2020)
French billionaire and notable art collector François Pinault is taking over a new hot Parisian spot to display his art collection. Located at the heart of Paris, the Bourse de Commerce (Stock Exchange) is the new exhibition space for the Pinault Collection. The historic building has been fully restored and transformed into a museum by famous Japanese architect Tadao Ando, including an auditorium and 3,000 square metres of contemporary art display space. French chef Michel Bras will take up residence and open a restaurant at the museum.
- FONDATION PERNOD RICARD
- New cultural site
- Paris, Île-de-France
- 6 February 2021
A new venue, a new ambition, new artistic encounters: the Pernod Ricard Foundation will be as committed as ever to supporting the young contemporary French arts scene and to making it as widely accessible as possible. This new multidisciplinary venue – whose development was entrusted to the firm NeM / Niney & Marca Architectes – is located at 1 Cours Paul Ricard, at the forefront of the new global headquarters of the eponymous Group, in the Saint-Lazare district at the heart of Paris. It boasts a main exhibition space of 300 square metres, as well as a 130-seat auditorium and a modular lobby that can accommodate performances or one-off installations. Café Mirette will provide a warm and welcoming meeting place for all art lovers. The space will open onto a large terrace, the Paul Ricard courtyard, accessible to all.
- LES FRANCISCAINES
- New cultural site in a former convent
- Deauville, Normandy
- March 2021
As its name suggests, this beautiful building was once home to the Franciscan order. It was sold to Deauville in 2012 and has since been entirely restored to house a museum, auditorium and media library, arranged across five zones – including one for children – all thematically linked to Deauville and its history. The museum will also exhibit works by André Hambourg, who donated over 500 paintings to the town, and other contemporary pieces.
- HOTEL DE LA MARINE
- New museum
- Paris, Île-de-France
- 13 April 2021(postponed from 2020)
For the first time in over two centuries, the Hôtel de la Marine in Paris will open its doors to the public in April 2021. Accompanied by their ‘Confidant’ – a handset for 3D visuel / audio effects – visitors are taken on an immersive tour of the sumptuous apartments complete with furnishings and the state rooms that provided access to the loggia overlooking Place de la Concorde. Various visit options are available, including one specially designed for families. Lastly, the exhibition gallery in the Hôtel de la Marine will be home to temporary exhibitions, masterpieces from the Al Thani Collection and a programme of cultural events. Since its completion by architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel in 1774, the Hôtel de la Marine has been owned by the Crown and houses the management and storage of the Court’s furniture and works of art.
- THE SAINT-ETIENNE INTERNATIONAL DESIGN BIENNAL
- Design festival
- Saint-Étienne, Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes
- 28 April – 22 August 2021
The city of Saint-Étienne is famous for its design and football. The Biennale Internationale Design Saint-Étienne in France began in 1998, is held every two years and has been successfully held for 11 sessions to date. One of the world’s most important design exhibitions, it is an academic, forward-facing industrial design exhibition that aims to present outstanding works in the design field, while providing a high-level promotional display platform for talented artists and designers. They are invited to gather for forums, interviews, symposia and artistic creation under the theme of industrial design, in order to promote the ideal connection between art and industry. The Biennale is equally renowned for the American National Design Triennial, Milan Design Week and the London Design Festival.
https://www.biennale-design.com/saint-etienne/2021/ (French only)
- DINOPLAGNE, A SITE CONTAINING DINOSAUR FOOTPRINTS DISCOVERED IN 2009
- La Plagne, Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes
- April 2021 (postponed from 2020)
What does three minutes in the life of a dinosaur represent? At Dinoplagne, traces of giants from times gone by will give you a striking insight into their world. This paleontological site has the longest trail of dinosaur footprints in the world, fossilised 145 million years ago – and will finally open to the public after being discovered by geologists and biologists from Oyonnax in 2009. Official website not yet available
- JEFF KOONS EXHIBITION AT MUCEM, MARSEILLE
- Marseille, Région Sud
- 5 May – 18 October 2021
Curated in close collaboration with the artists, ‘Jeff Koons MuCEM: Works from the Pinault Collection’ will present some of his most famous works in Marseille. It will explore the relationship between these works and everyday objects, photographs and documents from the MuCEM’s immense collection, in the field of popular arts. Thanks to a loan of 20 works from the Pinault Collection, it is a real dive into the artist’s work, punctuated by his iconic works, sculptures (such as Balloon Dog, 1994-2000 and Lobster, 2007-2012) and paintings (including Backyard, 2002 and Dutch Couple, 2007).
- THE MARCEL PROUST MUSEUM
- Cabourg, Normandy
- Spring 2021 (postponed from 2020)
Commemorating 100 years since Marcel Proust won the coveted Prix Goncourt literary prize, the Villa du Temps Retrouvé (Marcel Proust Museum) will open in 2021 in Cabourg, Proust’s favourite holiday retreat and the inspiration for his famous novel, A La Recherche Du Temps Perdu [In Search of Lost Time]. The museum will showcase the Belle-Epoque period at the end of the 19th century and explore the history of the Cote Fleurie through Proust’s eyes.
- FRANCE’S FIRST UNDERWATER MUSEUM
- Marseille, Région Sud
- Spring 2021
A group of art lovers in the city conceived the Musée Subaquatique de Marseille, or ‘Marseille Underwater Museum’, a series of sculptures submerged in the Anse des Catalans bay that can only be reached by diving. The project was inspired by the MUSA Museum off Cancun, Mexico, created in 2009 by British artist Jason deCaires Taylor, which now attracts divers from around the world. The plan is to launch the museum with 45 art pieces, 15 of which will be by Taylor himself.
www.musee-subaquatique.com/fr/ (French only)
- THE GEHRY TOWER AT FONDATION LUMA
- Arles, PACA
- Spring 2021 (postponed from 2020)
Designer Frank Gehry’s vertiginous, twisting tower at LUMA Arles is taking shape on its 16-acre site in Provence. The tower will support a variety of functions and spaces including research facilities, workshops and seminar rooms, as well as artists’ studios. While it used only to open during summer, the Fondation LUMA itself is now open all year round.
- OCEANA LUMINA
- Rocherfort, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
- Spring 2021
In the remarkable setting of the Rochefort Arsenal, Oceana Lumina is an enchanted night walk. This hour-long pedestrian tour transports visitors into a fantastic world inspired by the site’s maritime epics. It’s immersive and multi-sensory, inventively combining a variety of digital tools – lighting and scenographic installations, video projections and an original soundtrack – to allow visitors to experience the emotion of the great ocean crossings. Designed by renowned Canadian company Moment Factory, this first tour in Europe is scheduled to open in spring 2021, with a programme of over 100 performances.
www.arsenaldesmers.fr (french only)
- NATURE IS BIKE: FRANCE’S FIRST EVER GRAVEL BIKE FESTIVAL
- Angers, Pays de la Loire
- 26-27 June 2021 (postponed from 2020)
France’s first festival dedicated to gravel bikes will take place over two days next summer in the historic riverside town of Angers. Conceived as both a sporting event and a reconnection with nature, the festival will feature two challenges – a 64km night ride and a 100km daytime course – plus a family ramble, a ‘Gravel Expo’ trade fair and a programme of environment-focused activities. Angers is a major cycling centre, sitting at the crossroads of three major routes that are enjoyed by almost 200,000 cyclists every year.
- THE BRITISH NORMANDY MEMORIAL
- New memorial
- Ver-sur-Mer, Normandy
- June 2021 (postponed from 2020)
Designed by Liam O’Connor, award-winning architect behind the Bomber Command Memorial in London, this new site will be the first memorial to honour the 22,000 soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen who died fighting under British command on D-Day and in the Battle of Normandy. It will stand just outside the village of Ver-sur-Mer, overlooking Gold Beach.
- THE ARC DE TRIOMPHE, WRAPPED
- Art display
- Paris, Île-de-France
- 18 September – 3 October 2021 (postponed from 2020)
In partnership with the Pompidou Centre, the Centre des Monuments Nationaux (CMN) will be creating a temporary exhibition entitled ‘The Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped’. The work will be visible for 14 days and conceived by Christo, who famously ‘wrapped’ the Pont-Neuf in Paris, the Reichstag in Berlin and the Gates of Central Park in New York. As the artist sadly passed away in 2020, the display will be entirely funded by the sale of his preparatory studies, drawings and collages of the project, as well as scale models, works from the 1950s and 1960s and original lithographs on other subjects.
www.paris-arc-de-triomphe.fr/en/News/The-Arc-de-Triomphe-Wrapped
- CHANEL METIERS D’ART WORKSHOP
- New cultural site
- Porte d’Aubervilliers, Paris, Île-de-France
- Date to be confirmed (postponed from 2020)
This 25,550-square-metre building in the northern Parisian suburb of Porte d’Aubervilliers was conceived by Rudy Ricciotti, and will house the majority of the 26 speciality ateliers that Chanel oversees, including milliner Maison Michel, cashmere specialist Barrie, feather maker Lemarié and embroiderers Maison Lesage. A total of 600 artisans will take up residence in a striking structure covered in a concrete shell evoking threads. Through the project, Chanel hopes to contribute to the influence of Paris as the capital of fashion. Official website not yet available
- A TEMPORARY GRAND PALAIS ON THE CHAMPS DE MARS
- Temporary pop-up cultural site
- Paris, Île-de-France
- 2021-2024
The Grand Palais is temporarily relocating to the Champ de Mars, at the base of the Eiffel Tower, at the beginning of 2021 and will remain there until Autumn 2024. The new temporary 10,000-square-metre structure was designed by the Wilmotte & Associés architecture firm. The ‘Grand Palais Ephémère’ (Temporary Grand Palais) will host the events of the Grand Palais during the transformation of the original Parisian institution, which closed its doors in summer 2020 to carry out a large-scale renovation ahead of becoming a host venue for the Olympic and Paralympic Games 2024.
ANNIVERSARIES
- 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE JAZZ A JUAN FESTIVAL
- Juan-les-Pins, PACA
- 9-25 July 2021 (postponed from 2020)
Antibes-Juan-les-Pins’ iconic jazz festival was due to celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2020, and will now be organising its celebrations for 2021. Listening to jazz in the Pinède Gould pine grove overlooking the Mediterranean is a unique experience and has given the festival world renown. Next year’s special edition will go on longer than usual to celebrate the anniversary, with a line-up including Gregory Porter, Herbie Hancock and Diana Ross.
- 50TH YEAR OF THE FESTIVAL INTERCELTIQUE DE LORIENT
- Lorient, Brittany
- 6-15 August 2021 (postponed from 2020)
Each summer around 700,000 people from all over the world invade the Celtic town of Lorient for the Festival Interceltique. From Galicia to Scotland, the best of Celtic music can be found here and enjoyed in a buzzy social atmosphere. No less than 200 events and shows and 5,000 performers around the city will be celebrating this 50th anniversary.
- 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NAUSICAA SEA LIFE CENTRE
- Boulogne-sur-Mer, Hauts-de-France
- 2021
After a major extension which opened in May 2019, Nausicaá became the largest aquarium in Europe and is located in Boulogne-sur-Mer, just a swim across the Channel. The major attraction in Hauts-de-France will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2021 with a calendar of activities and events. In addition to being the perfect family holiday destination, the sea life centre’s role is also to educate and encourage the general public to protect marine life for the future and to assess the impact of resources and how they can help with marine conservation.
- 200TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTH OF WRITER GUSTAVE FLAUBERT
- Normandy
- 2021
2021 marks the bicentenary year of the birth of Gustave Flaubert, one of France’s most famous and influential writers who is perhaps best-known in the English-speaking world for his debut novel, Madame Bovary. Flaubert’s attachment to Normandy – in particular the city of Rouen, where he was born and did much of his writing – makes him an important figure in this region’s history. Until December, Normandy will host a varied programme of events to celebrate the bicentenary of Flaubert, including exhibitions, shows, tourist trails, dramatised walking tours and educational activities. Official website not yet available
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