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THE MAGAZINE EVENT
Marseille-Provence 2013
Here we are! Marseille, the European cultural capital
of 2013 has kicked off its festivities. This large-scale
event has been put together through the
enthusiastic participation of ninety-seven communities,
with highlights in Marseille, Aix-en-Provence,
Aubagne, Arles and Martigues, to name but a few. After battling
fiercely to be chosen, and sweeping away all doubts, Marseille is
opening its arms (and its coasts...) to Euro-Mediterranean culture
with three sections, marking a year of festivals, exhibitions and
projects of every kind. From January to May, the spotlight will be
on the rich mix of this world region. Then the summer gets going
with "Le grand atelier du Midi", a flagship exhibition on the
painters' Provence in its chapter devoted to open-air art. Autumn
and winter will then focus on the land "with a thousand faces"
that make up Marseille of young talents and a region at the
leading edge of technology. The region has certainly pushed the
boat out in terms of money and architects to reshape the face of
the city: the Friche la Belle de Mai is getting a make-over with
Matthieu Poitevin's and Pascal Raynaud's Tour Panorama; the
Museum of European & Mediterranean Civilisations (MuCEM - le
musée des Civilisations de l'Europe et de la Méditerranée) has
been designed by Rudy Ricciotti, and the "Villa Méditerranée" by
Stefano Boeri… not to mention the J1 Hangar on the quays of
the port at La Joliette, the set-up of the Musée Regards de
Provence in a former healthcare centre, and the renovation of
many other museums. In short, Marseille-Provence 2013 (MP
2013), Europe's biggest worksite, is in the process of sloughing
off a skin. For the time being, act I: the Friche la Belle de Mai is
starting off an exciting year with an exhibition symbolising the
city's spirit, "Ici, ailleurs" (Here, Elsewhere), bringing together
thirty-nine Mediterranean artists around the themes of travel,
exile, history, transmission and memory. The former Seita
tobacco factory, which Matthieu Poitevin now sees as a "people's
factory and a place for dissemination", is offering oriented works
80 GAZETTE DROUOT INTERNATIONAL I N° 23
The MuCEM (le musée des Civilisations
de l’Europe et de la Mediterranée).