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arT & CuLTurE Photo left
Manifesta 13 © Manifesta.org
Photo centre Stefan Kalmar © Richard Young
Paralleles du Sud programme. we will reach all the way to MAMAC in Nice, where Ursula Biemann will be having a solo show.
Manifesta 13 Q&A with Director Stefan Kalmar in anticipation of this summer’s big event in Marseille, riviera insider caught up with the Biennale’s Director, Stefan Kalmar, to learn more about this city-wide art festival. By SARAh hYDE
Ri. We are all so excited about Manifesta 13, it looks like a major influx of international artistic energy is coming to Provence this summer. Can you give us some idea of the dimension of this event? sk. Yes, over thirty artists are working on a response to the city of Marseille. There will be historical and contemporary responses addressing issues such as immigration, social justice and the particularity of the post-colonial relationship. MaRch / aPRil 2020
Manifesta13 is going to work with seven of the city’s most prominent museums: Musée Cantini, La Vieille Charité, Musée Grobet-Labadié, Muséum d’histoire Naturelle, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Musée d’histoire de Marseille and the Conservatoire National à Rayonnement Régional. Is this summer going to be all about Manifesta will you take over all of Marseille? one aspect of the Manifesta13 exhibition, which works with seven of the most prominent institutions in Marseille, is that it infuses new voices into those institutions - the voices of people who are not normally represented. It highlights the voices that are not currently heard in these places, making them more responsive to the city of Marseille That sounds quite radical! well, yes it is. Manifesta often works outside the institutions — this time we not only want to raise the profile of the institution but also to question, challenge and evolve the role of those institutions so that they become more representative of the real demographics of the city. And hopefully more relevant or more civic for the people of Marseille. Above all, Manifesta 13 is for the people of Marseille. In fact, Manifesta is working throughout the entire region. Can you tell us more? Yes, through the entire region. we are giving funding to 96 local partners to host parallel events and they can be found in our Les
The title of this year’s Biennale is ‘Traits d’union.s,’ French for hyphen. Can you explain how this idea works and reveal to our readers some of the themes of this year’s event? This is symbolised through the partnerships with the museums, where both partners create their identities but through the hyphen you make one new word. In this way both are legible in their own identity but joined together. The hyphen thus enables us to create a clear partnership while maintaining our identity and differences. The themes of this event are ecological crisis: the legacy of industry and global warming and its impact on the sea and the fishing economy. we are also addressing the French legacy of colonialism and the post-colonial condition of Marseilles. how do you think that this influx of international interest will benefit local artists and students and what do you think they can do to get the best out of interacting with the important curators and influencers present? Every artist is giving talks about their work in conferences and symposia and the exhibitions themselves will demand engagement. The aim is to raise the possibility for culture and contemporary art What do you think the lasting legacy will be - will Marseille be a different city after Manifesta? If the city changes - we hope that it will - it will be because the institutions we are working closely with will experience what it could be like to become more representative to the real life experiences and diversity of the city.
Manifesta ‘Traits d'union.s’ Opens 7 June at locations across Marseille www.manifesta.org