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“Life is Beautiful” with artist Houda Bakkali

by: Stephanie Horsman
06/08/2021

Monaco’s Le Pinocchio restaurant will be featuring private viewings of the works of artist Houda Bakkali this month, inviting guests to experiment with augmented reality as they admire her special brand of visual art.
Barcelona-based Houda Bakkali wants us all to look at the world the way she does: in a positive light. After a year and a half of bad news, the artist is asking people to remember, through her latest exhibition at Le Pinocchio restaurant, that “Life is Beautiful” and to be grateful despite all the difficulties life presents.
“With the new graphic series ‘Life is Beautiful’, the international visual artist Houda Bakkali launches a universal message of optimism and hope, more necessary than ever in these strange dark times that humankind is experiencing due to the global pandemic and the unpredictability of its evolution,” Juliet Art Magazine said of her exhibition. “While the whole world is sick, disoriented and frightened by the future, the Spanish artist concentrates on the digital canvas, all the most vibrant and incredible colours that nature and pixels are able to offer to create a real explosion of joy of against which it is impossible to remain neutral.”
It would, indeed, be hard to stay neutral upon seeing the works on offer by the vibrant Bakkali, which will be on display from 9th to 22nd August. Loaded with imagery depicting strong females and representing iconic feminine themes such as flowers, curves and colour, her work is much like the artist herself.

Le Pinocchio restaurant is located in the old town of Monaco, photo provided

Le Pinocchio has hosted the artist in the past. She had a show in the midst of the pandemic back in October of 2020 where she displayed her Africa series as well as debuting a new piece at the time called Crazy Heart.
“At this very particular time that we live because of the pandemic, we must find new ways to continue sharing our creativity with the public,” said Bakkali at the time. “My art is essentially digital, so this virtual presentation is a perfect option to bring the public closer to my creative process. In Monaco, I feel at home. It is a country that I love and being able to show my work in such an emblematic place as Le Pinocchio is a great honour. I am very grateful and happy for this opportunity.”
Bakkali is an international visual artist and has exhibited around the globe, including in Paris, Madrid, Cannes, San Remo, New York, Barcelona, Córdoba, Biarritz and Lorc, as well as in the Principality.
 
 
 

Award encourages Prince to "stick to my convictions"

by: Stephanie Horsman
27/07/2021

Prince Albert II has been awarded the 2021 Jane Alexander Global Wildlife Ambassador Award for his continuing dedication to and support of environmental causes, namely the protection and study of seahorses in the Mediterranean.
Prince Albert II has a long history of championing environmental causes, a passion which led him to launch the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation in 2006. Since then, he has been involved heavily in wildlife conservation and this year, his contribution to seahorse protection, led by the efforts of the 2021 Indianapolis Prize winner Dr Amanda Vincent, has earned him the Jane Alexander Global Wildlife Ambassador Award.
“Prince Albert II is an inspirational leader at the forefront of protecting the health of earth’s lands and waters, the variety of its plants and animals, and the development of renewable energies,” said Jane Alexander. “It is a great honour to welcome him as the recipient of the Global Wildlife Ambassador Award for 2021.”

Prince Albert II at the Oceanographic Museum established by Prince Albert I

Prince Albert II has led the charge for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Monaco on behalf of seahorses, which are native to the waters off Monaco and are good indicators of general sea health. Since 1978, Monaco has been involved with CITES, providing funding to support the preservation and protection of wild seahorse populations in the region.
In November 2020, Monaco also became the official proponent of a new International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Resolution focused on conservation of seahorses, pipefish and sea dragons, which directs 1,450 organisations to take action.
The Prince’s commitment to nature has led him, through his foundation, to open 10 foreign branches funding nearly 700 projects totalling €84 million.
Prince Albert II of Monaco has welcomed the award as encouragement to continue on his environmental path

Recipients of the Global Wildlife Ambassador Award have been deemed crucial in helping raise awareness about threatened and endangered species and habitats by using their positions and skills to alert policymakers, businesspeople and the public of the situations. Former winners include Sigourney Weaver for her work with gorillas and Harrison Ford for his nature protection efforts.
“I am extremely honoured to be receiving such an important award, a truly significant one in the field of animal conservation,” said Prince Albert. “Please allow me to take this award as an additional encouragement to pursue my action and to stick to my convictions. It will help me keep on my commitments and my contributions to the preservation of the oceans, the conservation of coral reefs and marine protected areas, and strive to protect endangered marine species.”
Award by Artist Zheng Lu

The Prince will be honoured at a black-tie event on 25th September at the Indianapolis Prize Gala presented by Cummins, held in the American city which gives the prize its name. The award was created by Beijing-based artist Zheng Lu and is part of his ‘Water in Dripping’ series, which highlight water’s importance in the natural world as a source of life.
The Prince has also received $250,000 for his Foundation.
 
 
 
Photos provided by the Indianapolis Prize
 
 
 

Henry Rodriguez Herrera exhibit at the YCM

by: monacoadmin
26/07/2021

The Yacht Club of Monaco is hosting the works of vibrant Colombian artist Henry Rodriguez Herrera at its gallery this month.
Henry Rodriguez Herrera gets inspiration for his bold, graphic pieces not only from his real-life experiences in his native Bogota, where colour and life abound, but also from yesteryear, where Greek myth and culture permeate his works.
He asks his audience to travel with him, to other places, to other times and invites them to be part of the stories he tells.
Now, he is telling his story with his exhibition ‘From Myth to Reality’ at the Yacht Club of Monaco Gallery until 15th August.
Herrera started his career at El Malpensante magazine in Bogota, honing his craft and making a name for himself, often getting commissions for large architectural projects in large American cities such as New York City and Philadelphia.
His interesting style, mixed with the use of recycled materials such as metal sheets, concrete slabs and old doors make him popular with the avant-garde, whilst his refined magazine work earns him kudos from the mainstream.
After meeting his wife, he made the decision to move to France where they set up their workshop and pop-up gallery La Galeria in Le Cannet.
For the Yacht Club exhibition, the paintings from his Argonautes series were selected. The works are meant to represent the current health crisis “where we were masked and where we lived in a world that was unknown to us. The huge objects hanging over the heads of the characters are now levitating, symbolising the disappearance of an evil that weighed so heavily on us.”
Female figures also dominate this series, with a colourful Persephone, goddess of spring and queen of the underworld offering hope of rejuvenation, and Penelope waiting for her Ulysses to join her on a speedboat.
To see the depth of Herrera’s works in person, visit the Showroom IQOS at the Yacht Club until 15th August.
 
 
 

“We want the YCM marina to be an innovation laboratory”

by: Stephanie Horsman
23/07/2021

The Yacht Club of Monaco will host the first ever Monaco Smart Yachting and Marina Show in September with the goal of speeding up the transition to more environmentally-friendly yachting practices both in harbours and on the seas.

In the run-up to the Monaco Yacht Show, the inaugural Monaco Smart Yachting and Marina conference will be held on 20th September to introduce new ideas for building “virtuous” marinas and using sustainable and eco-compliant practices.

Organisers Monaco Marine Management say they aim to “present all the new solutions and innovative technologies in favour of the preservation of the environment in order to design more virtuous marinas,” including encouraging renewable energy usage and other means to help in ocean protection efforts.

It also puts a fine point on the direction the Principality is heading in terms of looking to be a leader in the new green yachting trend.

“Smart yachting is an axis of the future for Monaco,” says Frédéric Genta, Interministerial Delegate in charge of the Digital Transition in the Principality.

“It is a component full of potential for the transformation of our economy and our attractiveness.”

The Yacht Club of Monaco has been promoting sustainability for several years already, putting measures such as the SEA Index in place to assess the CO2 emissions of super-yachts since 2014.

“Many shipowners are very concerned about the future of yachting. This trend can only become a reality if the infrastructures that host them are adapted to this energy and ecological transition,” said Bernard d’Alessandri, Secretary General of the Yacht Club and President of Yachting Monaco. “Our desire is to be able to test these solutions within our YCM Marina, like an innovation laboratory.”

The meeting will bring together big companies such as IBM, Schneider Electric and Teledyne, with innovators, investors and promoters of the virtuous marina scene from around the globe who will share their experiences and talk about the development of eco-responsible, efficient and practical marinas, in addition to making them real places to live.

“For several years, we have been reflecting on the development of virtuous marinas,” explains José Marco Casellini, CEO of Monaco Marina Management. “Places of life, smart marinas, respectful of the environment, must encourage the emergence of new activities and services, like the smart cities of which they are inspired.”

Alongside the conference, an e-catalogue of 50 start-ups will be available from 28th July of which 15 will be chosen by a panel of jurists from the field to be awarded the chance to present their projects at the 2022 Monaco Ocean Week organised by the Prince Albert II Foundation.

“The major issues in the conservation of the marine environment are now clearly identified,” explains Olivier Wenden, Vice-President of the Foundation. “Supporting research and development of new sustainable solutions for more virtuous yachting is all the more essential to continue to enjoy the pleasures of the sea while providing responses adapted to the challenges of preservation.” 

 

 
Photo by Matthias Mullie on Unsplash
 
 
 

Legendary Jimmy’z is back

by: Stephanie Horsman
22/07/2021

Monaco’s fabled Jimmy’z Sporting Monte-Carlo nightclub is reopening with much ado, some huge name DJ’s, and all the glamour that it is famous for.
The doors of uber-cool Jimmy’z fly open late Thursday after a long hiatus brought on by the pandemic. To mark the occasion, they have announced some serious musical talent for the agenda this summer, including Martin Solveig, Kungs and Virgil Abloh.
The nightclub has been a Monaco staple since its inception in 1971, a collaboration between singer and nightclub impresaria Régine Zylberberg and Société des Bains de Mer (SBM). It continues to attract jetsetters, celebrities, sports icons and the fashion crowd to its privileged location at Le Sporting complex, offering nights filled with music played by the best DJs and cocktails most people would need to take out a loan to afford.

Photo © Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer

At this den of the super-rich and famous, anything went, and still goes, and the champagne flows along with the music well into the wee hours.
Jimmy’z had a facelift back in 2017, leaving many of the aspects of the old, including the dancefloor and the lush garden, while adding a floating summer bar and open-air tables to give the club a more spacious feel.
Over the years, the club has attracted names such as Robin Schulz, Michael Calfan, Lost Frequencies, Martin Solveig, Bob Sinclar, Mark Ronson, FatBoy Slim, Big Ali and Benny Benassi to the turntables, a roster that would have any nightclub owner drooling, but is business as usual at Jimmy’z.
DJ Bob Sinclair with Monegasque F1 driver Charles Leclerc at Jimmy’s in 2019 © Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer

This year’s international artists include the “King of Afro House” Black Coffee on 30th July. Next up will be Virgil Abloh on 13th August, followed by Kungs on the 20th and Martin Solveig on the 27th.
Thursdays will be dedicated to ‘Go Deep’, a go-to for house music with an innovative musical line-up, famous artists and up-and-coming talents. Fridays are Urban Jimmy’z with Hip-Hop sessions from DJ Ollie and Saturdays are the domain of ‘Pop Heart’ nights featuring a Pop Art ambiance with artists and/or their original works on display.
The reopening is an exciting event, but not a total free-for-all.
The club has introduced some rules to keep the clientele safe, including mandatory health pass with a valid QR code, mask-wearing whilst in queue and the need to make a reservation.
Jimmy’z will be open from Thursdays to Saturdays inclusive until the end of August, and Fridays and Saturdays until the end of September, from 11:30pm to dawn.
 
 
 
Top photo © Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer
 
 
 

Construction at centre of MEB meeting with Quebec

by: Stephanie Horsman
22/07/2021

The Monaco Economic Board met with the Quebec, Canada General Delegation in France and Monaco for a conference highlighting the latest responsible construction trends being employed in the Principality.
The Monaco Economic Board (MEB) met on Monday 19th July with Monaco and France’s Quebec Delegation for a conference on innovative, responsible construction technology methods. These approaches are already in use in the Principality and can been seen in action at the Carmelha Tower site.
Developed by Quebec company Upbrella, the technology means that buildings can be constructed without cranes, using less overall space, building with sustainably sourced wood and creating less pollution on the site, thus reducing the overall carbon footprint.
MEB Executive Director General Guillaume Rose welcomed the participants saying, “Application of this innovative technology in the Principality is an excellent starting point for closer cooperation between entrepreneurs in Monaco with those in Québec in all possible sectors.”
Michèle Boisvert, Delegate General of Quebec then opened the conference, drawing attention to similarities between two territories “who share the same visions and pay particular attention to environmental and marine issues as well as northern issues”.

Photo provided by the MEB

A presentation on the technology was then given, followed by a cocktail and networking event allowing all the players to meet and mingle.
Prior to the conference, there was a visit to the Carmelha Tower site which saw Annabelle Jaeger Seydoux, Director of the Monaco Energy Transition Mission, and Jean-Luc Nguyen, Director of Public Works in attendance.
This is the second meeting of the two entities, the first having taken place in January via a webinar. Both sides are looking to expand and strengthen exchanges, and other collaborations are said to be in the pipeline.
Ms Boisvert ended by making her city’s unique position geographically and philosophically known, declaring, “We share the same values and language but we Québécois do business the American way. Our territory is therefore an ideal gateway for developing business in North America.”
A gateway that the MEB is determined to pass through.
 
 
Photo provided by the MEB