17 ° C
Profile

Day: 14 September 2026

Rokethon set to return to Monaco for a day dedicated to animal welfare and adoption

by: Kayla Sauceda
14/09/2026

The Rokethon is returning to Monaco for a day dedicated to animal adoption and supporting local animal welfare. Held under Princess Charlene and organised with the Société Protectrice des Animaux (SPA) de Monaco on Sunday 27th September, the event will offer a full day of activities.

Held at the Chapiteau de l’Espace in Fontvieille, the morning will kick off with a speech from Princess Charlene, followed by a walk/run for participants and their dogs held in solidarity against animal abandonment. Awards will then be presented to Dr. Thierry Bedossa, founder of Agir pour la Vie Animale (AVA), and Ozeki, a deserving dog. The afternoon will continue with an agility course, a fashion show with dogs available for adoption, animal art, a photo studio, a raffle, food trucks, and a dog park.

Although the fashion show at 3pm will give added visibility to dogs seeking their forever homes, the entire day will offer visitors the opportunity to meet dogs available for adoption.

Registration opens on-site from 8:30am and entry is free, although donations will be accepted. Dogs must meet all regulatory requirements to participate, ensuring that the necessary hygiene and safety conditions are met.

Although the day is designed around dogs, bringing one is not mandatory to participate. Animal lovers looking to support the cause are welcome to join, whether or not they have a four-legged friend of their own.

Rokethon’s objectives are simple: to raise awareness, give visibility to associations and shelters, promote adoption, and bring together animal lovers to take action. This annual event brings each of these aims together for a day dedicated to animal welfare in the Principality.

Stay updated with Monaco Life: sign up for our free newsletter, listen to our podcasts on Spotify, and follow us across Facebook,  Instagram, LinkedIn, and Tik Tok. 

Photo credit: Rokethon

Musée Matisse Nice to explore artistic dialogue between Henri Matisse and Alex Katz

by: Virginia D’Umas
14/09/2026

From 28th October 2026 to 18th January 2027, the Musée Matisse Nice will present ‘Henri Matisse – Alex Katz. Le silence de la peinture’, an autumn exhibition exploring the contemporary reception of Henri Matisse’s work through the lens of leading American painter Alex Katz. 

Conceived in collaboration with the artist following his visit to the museum in 2024, the exhibition places Katz’s works in direct dialogue with the permanent collections.

Henri Matisse, Odalisque au coffret rouge, Nice, 1927 (oil on canvas). Photo credit: Musée Matisse Nice / François Fernandez

A lasting transatlantic connection 

The artistic link between Matisse and Katz traces back to February 1949, when Katz—then a student at Manhattan’s Cooper Union—discovered an exhibition of Matisse’s recent works at Pierre Matisse Gallery. Paintings such as Nature morte aux grenades (1947) and Le silence habité des maisons (1947), alongside brush drawings and cut-out watercolours, left a profound aesthetic impression on the young artist. This connection is anchored in a long history of cultural exchange between France and the United States, amplified by Matisse’s own 1930 trip to New York. Struck by the city’s unique visual power, Matisse remarked that  “New York light is exceptionally beautiful, and then these towers, these masses rising in the air, in this light which is like crystals”.

He famously predicted: “You will understand, when you see America, that one day they will have painters, because it is not possible, in such a country, which offers such dazzling visual spectacles, that there won’t be painters one day.”

Throughout his career, Katz has drawn ongoing inspiration from the French master, particularly in his handling of light and colour.

Alex Katz, Drawing for Black Roses 16, 2025 (ink on paper). Photo credit: Alex Katz / Adagp, Paris, 2026

Shared artistic vocabulary 

Born in Brooklyn in 1927, Katz developed a singular figurative style distinct from the dominant abstract expressionism of mid-century American art. Focusing on traditional genres such as landscape, floral still life, and human figures, his large-scale canvases and flat areas of colour share common ground with both pop art and Matisse’s aesthetic principles. Both artists rely on simplified forms, flattened spatial planes without perspective, and a rigorous elimination of non-essential detail to privilege immediate visual impact and sensory experience.

Exhibition highlights and visitor information 

Curated by Aymeric Jeudy, Director of the Musée Matisse Nice, the showcase spans Katz’s career from his early 1951 work Nude to recent 2025 pieces like Lilies 13, featuring an extensive selection of paintings, drawings, prints, and cut-outs.

The museum is open daily except Tuesdays, from 10am to 6pm, with closing hours adjusted to 5pm from 1st November. 

Stay updated with Monaco Life: sign up for our free newsletter, listen to our podcasts on Spotify, and follow us across Facebook,  Instagram, LinkedIn, and Tik Tok. 

Alex Katz, Reclining Bather, 1960 (oil on cardboard). Photo credit: Alex Katz / Adagp, Paris, 2026