The vast urban regeneration project that is Nice’s Promenade du Paillon has reached the doors of the city’s flagship cultural establishment: the Musée d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporain, also known as the MAMAC.
For the next four years, renovations will be happening inside and outside of the museum, which formally shut its doors over the weekend with a closing event that was attended by thousands of patrons and supporters of the institution.
“It was truly a festive closing day at the MAMAC,” shared the MAMAC team on Facebook. “We would like to thank the 3,000 people who visited our museum before it closed for renovation work. We look forward to welcoming you again to a transformed museum in the heart of such a beautiful promenade. The building closes, but activity continues. Stay tuned to discover our off-site programming and for more information!”
See more: Nice’s Promenade du Paillon celebrates a decade of transformation and green space expansion
It has also been confirmed that a number of the museum’s best-loved pieces will be going on the road as special exhibits at other establishments.
WHERE IS THE ART?
The museum has made plans for the artworks installed in the building, with many going on loan to other museums in France and abroad.
Some will be transferred to nearby establishments, such as the 60 pieces heading to the Musée Fernand Léger in Biot, including a few new works that had not yet been put on display at the MAMAC.
In October, the Musée Henri Matisse in Nice will take its turn in looking after some of MAMAC’s works with a “big event” worthy of two great artists.
“We are going to have a highly anticipated match between Matisse and Klein,” said Hélène Guenin, the director of the MAMAC. “As surprising as it may seem, the two great masters of Nice have never been brought together in an exhibition.”
80 pieces by Niki de Saint Phalle will be travelling a bit farther afield, to the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City, Missouri in the United States, for a retrospective being put together there on the Franco-American artist, who was best known for her voluptuous and colourful sculptures of the female form.
Still more pieces will be taking a break from public life and will go in for restoration work.
The MAMAC officially opened to the public for the first time in 1990.
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Photo source: Musées de la Ville de Nice, Facebook