As part of the Mairie de Monaco’s strategy to breathe new life into the Marché de Monte-Carlo, another gourmet experience awaits shoppers this Saturday 22nd October.
After a ‘Forest Harvest Market’ earlier this month, and ahead of truffles in November, this time artisanal cheeses and wines from the region will take the spotlight.
This lesser-known open air market, which is often confused with the more famous La Condamine, can be found at 7 Avenue Saint Charles in Monaco.
Access is free for all.
Photo source: Alexandra Dementyeva on Unsplash
Contemporary exhibition: Roni Horn at Hauser and Wirth Monaco
‘Sweet is the swamp with its secrets’ is the opening line taken from a poem by Emily Dickinson, and as a title to this exhibition of Roni Horn’s work, it perfectly sums up what is hiding in the depths of the Hauser and Wirth gallery.
For the first time ever, Roni Horn’s photography and sculpture are presented alongside clips from Ingmar Bergman’s famous 1966 sexual drama Persona, her works interpreted through the prism of cinema by curator Jerry Gorovoy for an exhibition designed specifically for Hauser and Wirth Monaco.
“I am interested in Roni’s relationship to cinema both on a formal level and on a conceptual, content level,” says Jerry Gorovoy during a private tour of the exhibition. “The work tends to be more abstract and hermetic, but there’s an unconscious side to what she is doing that deals with sexuality and psycho-sexuality.”
Roni Horn is an American visual artist and writer who, at a very early age, decided that her gender “was nobody’s business”, as she said in a 2009 interview.
Curator Jerry Gorovoy infront of Roni Horn portraits at Hauser and Wirth Monaco, photo by Monaco Life
While words, literature and language are often coupled with Horn’s work, this exhibition proposes that images of the body, desire and sexuality – the ‘secrets of the swamp’ – are equally crucial to identity.
“Roni Horn has been interested in identity her whole life. Now, the idea of androgyny, of sexuality and people changing their sexual identity or physicality is much more common, but Roni’s been dealing with this for a long time,” says Gorovoy. “One of the things that defines who we are, really, is our relationship to sexuality. The Bergman film is quite famous, but it is also quite hard to figure out. Like Roni’s work, if you take all the typologies, it doesn’t end up at a narrative. Bergman himself said when you see this film, don’t try to make sense of it, just experience it.”
Gorovoy has selected six two-minute clips from the feature-length film, removed the audio and added subtitles. The clips display interactions between Elisabet, an actress who for some unknown reason suddenly refuses to speak, and Alma, the nurse who is assigned to her care.
They are juxtaposed with the artist’s photography, where her erotic imagination – real and fantasized, conscious and conscious – come to life. We see the ‘peephole’ cinematic techniques in her photographs of a girls’ locker room at the hot springs, the phallic message behind the stuffed birds photographed from behind, “who is looking at who?” questions Gorovoy; the serial images of a woman named Margaret, sweating in the thermal waters. “See the slight variations in her expressions,” instructs the curator.
Roni Horn’s clowns on display at Hauser and Wirth Monaco, photo by Monaco Life
The clown in ‘Cabinet of’ with its smeared red nose and lips can be read as a symbol of sexual arousal while revealing the relationship between identity, mask and performance. “These are two separate photographs that she’s cut and spliced together, like in film, to make one image. Here again we ask, is this the same person? Is this two people? It’s very ambiguous in a way.”
‘a.k.a.’, a series of self-portraits, charts Horn’s exploration of her androgyny to reveal the relationship between gender and performance and, like Bergman, the multiplicity and fluidity of identity.
“According to Freud, basic understanding comes down to passive and active more than male and female within the psychic life. In these pictures of Roni, you can see how her identity, the way she styles herself, is like a mask. Androgyny is a big part of Roni’s work because it’s not masculine or feminine, it’s inclusive of both sides of the psychic life.”
At the centre of the exhibition is a large cast-glass sculpture with its seductively glossy surface inviting the viewer to gaze into an optically pristine interior, as if looking down on a body of water.
Portraits of Roni Horn, photo by Monaco Life
Jerry Gorovoy says that both he and Roni are happy with the exhibition he has put together specifically for Hauser and Wirth Monaco. Gorovoy has already forged a connection with the Principality – as assistant to Louise Bourgeois for 30 years and now President of The Easton Foundation, he oversaw Hauser and Wirth’s inaugural exhibition by Louise Bourgeois, including the gaint ‘Spider’ sculpture in the gardens of Monte-Carlo, in 2021.
“I’ve never done anything like this before, the projection and all that. But I think it works,” concludes the curator. “The complexity of the forms and the images allow Roni’s work to be read in many ways, but this is my interpretation. Hopefully people agree. Roni has seen it and she is very happy. She said it’s even richer than she thought.”
‘Sweet is the swamp with its secrets’ runs until 24th of December. As with all Hauser and Wirth exhibitions, this chapter includes a series of events including a screening of the movie at the gallery, a talk, still life workshops with school groups and more.
The annual Monaco Fair in the port is back later this month with loads of great games, rides and attractions for kids of all ages!
Wondering what to do with the kids this half term break?
Monaco has it covered as the yearly fun fair returns to the port for four whole weeks of fun and games. Located over the entire upper section of the Quai Albert Ier, as well as on the Darse Sud, visitors can enjoy entertainment stands, delicious food offerings and thrilling rides. It’s a great way to pass a sunny afternoon or a fun evening out for the whole family.
The kick-off will be held on Friday 21st October at 2pm and the fair will run until midnight on 19th November. It will be open daily from 11am to 11pm, with an extended hour on both Friday and Saturday nights, as well as on the eve of public holidays.
On 18th November, the night before National Day, the park will stay open until 1am.
Public safety is at the forefront of the organiser’s minds, and as a result, they have incorporated a few measures to ensure a good time for all. Bags will be checked at the eight access points before entering the fair area, and visitors will be counted to avoid overcrowding. When a certain saturation point is hit, access to the fun fair will be temporarily suspended.
Crowd numbers can be seen in real time on the Monaco Mairie website at www.mairie.mc and it is recommended that people view the situation before heading to the Port.
Additionally, the Mairie has distributed a flyer to make sure that recycling and waste management is handled in an environmentally friendly manner.
The 45th International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo and the 10th New Generation Festival are back in 2023 with all the usual magic and a few surprises!
After two years of cancellations due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Monte-Carlo International Circus Festival is returning in January to celebrate its 45th edition, along with the 10th anniversary of the New Generation Festival, showcasing young, up-and-coming talent.
The organising committee, headed up by Princess Stephanie, has an exciting show lined up including a fusion of the two events, where numbers from the New Generation event will be integrated into the International Circus festival, giving guests a chance to see the best of the best in circus entertainment.
As ever, a jury will be on hand to select the bronze, silver and gold winners of the coveted Clown Awards, given to the most creative and unique acts by the show’s jugglers, magicians, clowns, equilibrists and animals. Equally, the New Generation performers will receive similar awards for their efforts, and both groups will be honoured at the Gala Awards Ceremony which will be held on Tuesday 24th January.
The circus, started by Prince Rainier III in 1974, was formed to create a place where traditional circus performers and their families could be supported and showcase their talents to audiences. This small idea has gone on to blossom into the largest circus festival in the world, and has spawned other circus-related events in Monaco, such as the summer workshops, which lets kids try their hands at juggling, acrobatics and other fun activities, as well as the celebration of World Circus Day.
The International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo will be held from 20th to 29th January 2023 at the Chapiteau de l’Espace Fontvieille. Tickets, which are on sale now, as well as more information, can be found online at www.montecarlofestival.mc and www.francebillet.com/ or at the ticket office of the Chapiteau from Monday to Friday, 10am to 1pm and from 2pm to 6pm.
Photo source: International Circus Festival of Monaco
A TedX Youth event, organised by and for young people based on the successful Ted Talks model, will be held at the International School of Monaco, where kids can learn to confidently speak in public on the theme of ‘Dream it. Wish it. Do it.’
TEDx Youth is part of the global phenomenon of independently-organised TED talk-like conferences celebrating “ideas worth spreading”, but this one is exclusively for young people.
The International School of Monaco (ISM) will take part for the second time, after last year’s successful talk on ‘Mistakes that Changed the World’, which has been viewed over 11,000 times on YouTube.
This year’s event, the only TedX Youth one being held in the Principality, will take place on 15th October at 2pm in the ISM cafeteria in front of a live audience and on camera, and will feature nine students aged 10 to 17 years speaking on the theme, as well as a showing of selected TED videos and musical entertainment.
The benefits of the event are numerous, not only giving young people the opportunity to get used to public speaking, a valuable life skill, but also showing that Monaco’s educational landscape is producing innovators and educators for the future. Training of this sort helps in later life for university and job interviews, as well as in the professional realm where confidence in speech can make the difference in getting a project made or sealing the deal.
Registration and more information is available online at www.ismonaco.com
The chefs who will feature in this year’s Festival of the Stars have been announced. Britain’s Clare Smyth, Australia’s Shaun Hergatt, France’s Bruno Verjus and Italy’s Davide Oldani will join Monaco’s Michelin-starred chefs for a series of extraordinary dining experiences.
One can barely throw a stone without hitting a Michelin-starred restaurant in Monaco these days. Diners have irresistible choices like never before, so it takes something truly special to create a serious buzz.
That buzz is here. After a successful launch in 2021, the Monte-Carlo Festival of the Stars (Festival des Etoilés Monte-Carlo) is returning to the Principality this autumn. Monte-Carlo SBM is once again giving foodies a chance to sample menus prepared by four Michelin-star chefs who have each invited a special guest to join them to create unforgettable culinary experiences.
It all kicks off on Friday 2nd September at Le Louis XV-Alain Ducasse at the Hôtel de Paris where the man himself, Alain Ducasse, will collaborate with his chef Emmanuel Pilon and triple-Michelin star awardee Clare Smyth for a special lunch and dinner service. British Smyth was trained under the legendary Ducasse early in her career, and has gone on to open her own establishment, Core by Clare Smyth, where she became the first woman in Britain to obtain a third Michelin-star for her work.
Next up on 7th October will be the dynamic duo of Monte-Carlo Bay’s Marcel Ravin and modernist Australian chef Shaun Hergatt. Ravin’s Caribbean-infused cuisine has made him his name and earned him two Michelin stars, making him one of Monaco’s most popular chefs.
Hergatt, now a New York transplant, has won both Best Young Chef and Best New Restaurant awards from the New York Times, the Michelin Guide and Esquire Magazine. His creativity is the ideal foil to Ravin’s exotic fare.
Then on 15th October, Yannick Alleno and Bruno Verjus team up for a night to remember. It wasn’t long ago that three-starred Alleno opened his new-look restaurant, Pavyllon Monte-Carlo, at the Hotel Hermitage Monte-Carlo where he is making magic every day.
He is joined by businessman turned food writer turned Chef Bruno Verjus. Verjus was in his 50s when he opened his first eatery, Table, and is now one of France’s most respected chefs, winning his second Michelin star this year.
Finally, on 21st and 22nd October, Executive Chef of the Hôtel de Paris’ Le Grill, Dominique Lory, will be joined by Davide Oldani for two spectacular nights. Lory worked alongside Alain Ducasse for many years, earning him accolades and skills.
Italian chef Oldani is bringing his “cucina pop” to Monaco, showcasing his delicious flavours and uncomplicated recipes to the Principality’s fine diners, for a night sure to dazzle.
For more info on the events and to book reservations, visit the website.
