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NFT drop at this year’s UPAW art event

by: Cassandra Tanti
25/06/2021

When street artists descend on Monaco for UPAW this year, they’ll be raising funds the Prince Albert Foundation. But they will also have the unique opportunity to be part of the NFT revolution.
Urban Painting Around the World (UPAW) returns for the 5th edition at the Esplanade des Pêcheurs from Tuesday 6th to Thursday 8th July, bringing international StreetArt artists to the Principality of Monaco for the benefit of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.
The 2021 edition features 12 artists from seven different countries: Nadib Bandi (France), Cacao Rocks (Greece), Chicadania (Colombia), Michael Bereens (France), Manomatic (Spain), Misterpiro (Spain), Andrea Ravo Mattoni (Italy), Pez (Spain), Spok Brillor (Spain), Jacques Schneider (Luxembourg), Mr OneTeas (Monaco), and Tones (Switzerland).
Like every year, the 2021 theme is linked to the protection of the environment: ‘The planet and its colours’.
Money raised from an auction of the street art on Thursday 8th July will go towards the Mediterranean Monk Seal Alliance conservation initiative spearheaded by the Prince’s Foundation. Previously, funds have been raised to help finance a project for the protection of chimpanzees in Uganda, and the BeMed (Beyond plastic Med) initiative to fight plastic pollution in the Mediterranean.
Urban Painting Around the World was created by Alberto Colman in 2017 to bring StreetArt to Monaco and show the sensitivity that street artists have for the environment, while bringing fans closer to the cause.
This year’s art show and auction will be complimented by other interesting side events.
On Wednesday 7th July at 4pm, there will be a Zoom session with the Abobo Contemporary Art Museum in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, who will show their simultaneous StreetArt exhibition featuring African artists.

StreetArt artist Pez from Spain will feature at this year’s UPAW event

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of this year’s event comes on Wednesday at 6pm, when there will be a roundtable titled ‘NFT on StreetArt’ moderated by art advisor Karolina Blasiak. It will a range of interesting speakers from Arteïa who will discuss the implications of NFT’s (Non Fungible Tokens), why they matter and how to participate in the art revolution.
Arteïa will supply the 12 participating artists with NFC tags, which the artists will be able to attach to their artwork.
Meanwhile, Thursday 8th July at 5pm will see the presentation of the book ‘Sous le StreetArt, le Louvre: Quand l’art classique inspire l’art urbain’ by art historian Cyrille Gouyette.
 
Photo of Spain’s Misterpiro
 
 

How to get your Monaco ‘Health pass’

by: Cassandra Tanti
25/06/2021

Monaco citizens and residents can now apply for the Principality’s version of the ‘Health pass’ to be used throughout Monaco and the EU, with an operational date set for 5th July. Here’s how it works.
Minister of State Pierre Dartout outlined the aim of Monaco’s health pass at a press conference on Thursday, saying, “We made a commitment on one point, among others, that Monegasques and residents would have the health pass at the beginning of July. The objective was to allow Monegasque nationals and residents to travel under the same conditions as all other Europeans even though Monaco is not part of the European Union.”
The Prince’s Government will distribute two types of Health Pass: the Monaco Safe Pass, which is valid in Monaco and France, and the European Health Pass, which will be acknowledged by European Union countries and those with agreements with France and the EU such as Switzerland.

The pass will be in the form of a QR code which can either be photographed, issued on paper or in digital version. It can be used by Monegasque citizens and residents who are fully vaccinated, have received a negative PCR test or have recently recovered from the virus.
Vaccinated or recently recovered people will be able to apply for the pass online at covid.mc from Friday 25th June and it will be emailed out from 5th July.
Those vaccinated after 5th July will receive a sms alerting them that their pass is available. It will be sent via email, or can be collected in paper version from a counter at the Rainier III Auditorium – the new vaccination centre.
A traffic light system will also be in play – showing green for people whose vaccination was completed more than 14 days previously, have a negative PCR test of less than 48 hours, or a certificate of recovery of between 15 days and less than six months.
According to the government, Monaco has been working on developing the pass since March, but were delayed due to a lag time in the European Union. Now the EU has finalised its pass system, Monaco has been able to adapt and is ready for a roll out to the public.
“It was a digital challenge, but today we are going to offer you a system that will make it possible to facilitate, very concretely, the movement of Monegasques and residents,” said Frédéric Genta, the Interministerial Delegate in Charge of the Digital Transition.
 
Photo by Michael Alesi / Government Communication Department
 
 

Monaco's ‘Summer of Dance’

by: Stephanie Horsman
24/06/2021

Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo is celebrating the return of live shows with two summer highlights this July.
To kick off the start of the 2021 edition of ‘L’Été Danse’ (Summer of Dance), the troupe will perform two creations by Mimoza Koike and Julien Guérin, both members of the ballet, from 15th to 17th July. With the full support of Artistic Director Jean-Christophe Maillot, these two young talents will bring their own new ballets to life over the three nights. Koike’s dance spectacle is called Tsunagu, a journey paying tribute to the people and places that shaped her artistic personality and the naturalism and poetry of her choreographic art with music by Iiia Osokin.
Also on the bill is Le temps du Tendre by Guérin with music by Vivaldi, who looks at love through the eyes of the 17th century approach to it. For Guérin, love is one of the “essential reasons for living. Love — true love shared — has always remained the most elusive and unintelligible of emotions. Without it, life is neither possible nor worth living. It is the driving force that moves us, empowers us, embraces us and sometimes even overpowers us. An overwhelming attachment to someone else, sublimated or incarnate.”

Photo of Mimoza Koike’s ‘Tsunagu’ by Takashi Shikama

Next up, from 22nd to 24th July, the dancers will take audiences on a journey to the shores of the Mediterranean with two creations.
The first, In Memorium by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, a former winner of the Nijinsky Award for Emerging Choreographers at the Monaco Dance Forum, was created back in 2004 for the Ballets de Monte-Carlo. This haunting ballet asks audiences to remember those who are no longer with us and will be accompanied by A Filetta, a Corsican musical group who will add their voices to the dancer’s moves.
This is described as “the presence of the dead persisting only through the memories they leave with the living. Some archaic rituals take the form of dances in honour of the dead. This bond between reality and memory is at the heart of In Memoriam.”
The second piece will be Core Meu by Jean-Christophe Maillot, which combines the Apulian Tarantella with classical ballet, an unusual but evocative and joy-filled mix. Antonio Castrignano and Taranta Sounds will accompany the dance.
All shows will be performed at the Grimaldi Forum and all start at 7pm. For tickets and more info, visit the ballets website at www.balletsdemontecarlo.com
 
 
Top photo by Alice Blangero
 

Monaco is getting into the “swing” of summer

by: Cassandra Tanti
23/06/2021

To mark the official start of summer on 21st June, SBM launched its hugely successful ‘Swing Monte-Carlo’ with a programme that combines shows, unique events, ideas for day trips and experiences at SBM resorts.
This year’s theme is ‘Marvellous Gardens’ and the second edition was launched on a beautiful summer’s night around the Place du Casino on Monday. Boutiques on the Promenade Monte-Carlo, a stylish open-air shopping area, stayed open all hours for the occasion, while the Hôtel de Paris hosted a series of ‘Escapes’ including wine tasting from the hotel’s cellars and massages by Thermes Marins Monte-Carlo.

Wine tasting in the courtyard of the Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo

The highlights of Swing Monte-Carlo 2021 are the Festival of the Sea on 23rd June and the opening of Mada Lounge from the 24th, the summer pop-up venue of Mada One in Place du Casino gardens. Every Thursday until 28th August, Mada Lounge will offer musical nights from 4pm to 10.30pm in a chic Bohemian atmosphere amidst Place du Casino gardens and overlooking the legendary Casino de Monte-Carlo.
Meanwhile, the boutiques on Promenade Monte-Carlo are dressing up in ephemeral decorations for the ‘Marvellous Gardens’ theme, with shop windows and pop-up terraces sporting the colours of Swing Monte-Carlo.
‘Marvelous Gardens’ is the theme of this year’s Swing Monte-Carlo, and they’ve also created the perfect spot to take a selfie

For those wishing to get away from it all, SBM is proposing “ways to escape” from breakfast to dinner around variousthemes. ‘Gourmet’ day, for example, starts with breakfast at the Café de Paris Monte-Carlo, the mythical brasserie and hub of Monegasque life for 150 years, followed by window shopping on Promenade Monte-Carlo, lunch at Elsa restaurant at Monte-Carlo Beach, and, to kick the night off, an aperitif at the Blue Gin bar at the Monte-Carlo Hotel & Resort. But a gourmet day wouldn’t be complete without a dinner in Monaco’s most prestigious restaurant, the three Michelin starred Le Louis XV – Alain Ducasse à l’Hôtel de Paris.
‘Swing Monte-Carlo’ was launched last summer after the first phase of the pandemic as a symbol of renewal and in reference to the hedonistic ‘Swinging 60s’ of London.
 
 
Photos by SBM
 
 

An animated Prince Albert features in latest ‘Blitz’

by: Stephanie Horsman
23/06/2021

The fourth volume of ‘Blitz’, the chess manga created by Monaco-based Shibuya Productions, will be released this week featuring a special guest star in the form of Prince Albert II.
On Friday 25th June, manga fans will be treated to a new instalment of the Monaco-produced Blitz.
“From the moment Blitz took place in Monaco, it was obvious to me to have the most important person in the country in the manga,” says Blitz creator and writer Cedric Biscay. “This volume four is really special because we have the honour to introduce an exceptional guest, Prince Albert. Moreover, he said yes right away, which is great!”
Whilst few specifics have been made public, the creators say the latest volume will show added depth and dimension to the main characters Tom, Harmony and Karl.
Shibuya Productions was founded by Cedric Biscay and Kostadin Yanev as an umbrella for production, development and creation of content for publishing, video game platforms, cinema, television.
When they launched Blitz in February 2020, it was in the hope that they could demystify the chess world and make it accessible and entertaining to people of all ages and backgrounds. In the latest story, there will be a “complete analysis of a game used in the book in order to help readers to understand the subtleties of the game”.
The Blitz series, supervised by the greatest player of all time Garry Kasparov, has been a huge success, prompting more to follow. Biscay considers this project his baby, and offers for an anime adaption have been made, showing an appeal far outside of the local market.
The latest volume will feature the Prince’s Palace on the back cover as well as the appearance of Monaco’s Sovereign.
“If I’m allowed to continue and the readership is still there, we can come up with 25 Blitz books with all I have to add to the story,” says Biscay.
 
 
Photo: Cedric Biscay at the press conference for the launch of Blitz volume 4
 
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TV Festival draws to a close with high-tech awards ceremony

by: Cassandra Tanti
23/06/2021

Monaco Life was there for the final episode of the 60th Monte-Carlo Television Festival on Wednesday night. Here are the highlights.
It was an evening that marked the end of Monaco’s first major festival since the pandemic began. The public turned out to see celebrities, television stars and A-list personalities walk the red carpet, including Ferrari driver and Monegasque favourite Charles Leclerc who stopped to sign autographs and take pictures with fans.

Photo of Charles Leclerc greeting fans on the red carpet by Monaco Life

Prince Albert, Honorary President of the Television Festival, was joined by his nephew Louis Ducruet and wife Marie for the main event in the theatre of the Grimaldi Forum – the presentation of the Golden Nymph Awards.
Monaco beauty Victoria Silvstedt was one of the first to present an award, rising up to the stage amidst a hologram of golden swirling stars. She presented the PeaceJam Special Jury Prize, sponsored by Monaco-based GEMA Foundation, to Lady Monika Bacardi for the Italian series Bella Da Morire.
Photo of Victoria Silvstedt by Monaco Life

US film Uncle Frank, produced by Miramax and Amazon Studios, was the big winner of the night, taking out Best Film, Best Creation and, for lead actor Paul Bettany, best Actor.
The UK’s It’s a Sin won Best Series, while lead actress Lydia West won Best Actress.
In the news category, ITV News won Best News Coverage for its Inside US Capitol production.
In total there were 14 winners selected from 27 nominated programs from 14 countries across the Prince Rainier III Special Prize, News and Fiction categories as well as a number of accolades including the Monaco Red Cross Prize and the AMADE Prize.
The coveted Crystal Nymph Award, destined for an actor for outstanding work, was presented by Prince Albert to French Tchéky Karyo.
“This 60th Monte-Carlo Television Festival has been a successful edition not only because of the remarkable and diverse talent who have joined us from around the world, but also in regards to the exceptional circumstances of the health crisis surrounding its organisation,” said Prince Albert, Honorary President of the Festival.
In a spectacular display of glitz, glam and technology, award winners who were not able to attend because of travel restrictions were projected on to the stage as holograms.
“I am very proud of the fact that, with the united effort and support of our friends and colleagues, we have managed to organise this exceptional edition of the festival during the global pandemic,” said Laurent Puons, CEO of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival. “A huge thanks to the entire festival’s team who worked tirelessly to make this anniversary memorable. It has been a fantastic five days here in Monaco culminating in an innovative and ground-breaking awards ceremony. The festival prides itself on its modern approach and, in this anniversary year, has truly celebrated the depth and breadth of global television as it continues to adapt and evolve.”