by Ilaria Sismondini
MONACO. TWO UNMISSABLE PROJECTS! “20TH ANNIVERSARY” Special retrospective: 20 years of great exhibitions to be rediscovered on videos! And the exhibition catalog “Monaco and the Automobile, from 1893 to the present day” now available to order!
“20TH ANNIVERSARY” – Episode 1: AIR-AIR – THE FIRST EXHIBITION
On 21st July 2000, the Grimaldi Forum, new cultural and congress center of the Principality of Monaco, inaugurated on its opening to the public an international exhibition dedicated to inflatables: «Air-Air» took place from July 21 to August 27th, 2000 – This first-hand encounter with the public was the starting point of the cultural policy of the Grimaldi Forum Monaco: «surprising without shocking», according to the words pronounced by Prince Rainier III of Monaco.
In 2000, as part of its public service mission, GFM’s Department of Cultural Events wished to contribute to the cultural richness of the Principality of Monaco and to participate in its international and national prestige by supporting a challenging and diverse program, open to all publics.
In 2020, on the occasion of its 20th anniversary, the congress and cultural center of the Principality of Monaco has broadcast a video series focused on the great summer exhibitions that have marked its history. A series of 20 episodes, to be discovered every week on the social networks and website of the Grimaldi Forum Monaco. It will make you live or relive 20 years of demanding and varied program, for all audiences, that contributes to the cultural richness of Monaco and its international influence. As an introduction to this series, the Grimaldi Forum Monaco invites you to watch an interview of Catherine Alestchenkoff, Cultural events’ Director of the Grimaldi Forum Monaco. To watch the video (2 mn20s.) Click on the player: https://www.grimaldiforum.com/en/index/20-years-of-great-exhibitions-to-be-rediscovered-on-videos#.XyrCWigzY2w
Jean-Paul Desroches for exhibitions on China, “The Century of the First Emperor” and “Everyday Treasures”, Germano Celant for “Super Warhol” and for “New York, New York”, where he worked in tandem with Lisa Dennison Brigitte de Montclos for “Imperial Saint Petersburg”, “Moscow, Splendors of the Romanovs” Frédéric Mitterand for “The Grace Kelly Years” or Christiane Ziegler for “Queens of Egypt”, Martin Bethenod “Artlovers, Stories of art in the Pinault collection” …
From one summer to the next: the strength of scenographic writing.
Featuring a modular space with undeniable architectural qualities, the 4000m2 of Espace Ravel among other things, have an infrastructure which blends the latest musical requirements with the latest scenography techniques, and can be converted into an exhibition space that is unique in Europe, and in which the works of major museums are presented. Unique and spectacular, scenography writing contributes to the richness of the exhibitions’ subject. Every Scenography was conducted by talented professionals: Matali Crasset for “Super Warhol”, François Payet for “Imperial Saint Petersburg” and “Queens of Egypt”, Nathalie Mane for “The Grace Kelly Years”, Studio Luigi Cerri for “New York, New York”, Ettore Sotssass for “Arts of Africa”, Frédéric Casanova for “Artlovers, Stories of art in the Pinault collection.” If, through scenographic, the GFM asserts its power of seduction on a public looking for the spectacular, it is also a means – compared with other cultural institutions – to assert its originality and its recognition on the international culture scene.
The international dimension of the exhibition.
Producer of high level scientific exhibitions and bringing together works from private and public collections worldwide, as well as, of course, from the world’s greatest museums in Europe, America, the Middle East, and the Far East, the GFM has acquired – for now close to fifteen years – a great legitimacy with international institutions. The production of high level exhibitions and the production of shows and/or concerts are the two axes of this programming, conditioned by material factors such as its focus on certain periods of the year (Summer, essentially, Easter, Christmas) in the center of some chosen spaces: the lobby, the Salle des Princes, and the Espace Ravel – for the summer exhibition. These spatial and temporal requirements influence a cultural policy whose singularity and identity – through, among others, summer exhibitions – is based on three characteristics: novelty, the strength of the scenography writing, and the international calling.
Crafts & Know-How
The department supports all steps in the implementation of an exhibition of the accompaniment of the commissioner, from the definition of the subject to its mastery. Design: No summer exhibition topic is a turnkey; they are rather the result of a topic which is validated by a Board and which must provide a new angle, or one never “shown” previously. Once the topic is chosen and the commissioner validated, a work of exchanges and collaboration between the commissioner and the GFM begins to validate the choice of the works. Then, a second step begins between the commissioner, the scenographer, and the GFM in its quality of producer. Project development, feasibility studies, and technical direction: our mission will consist in bringing together enterprises and teams who are not used to working together and who need to adopt managerial specifications particular to the project; validate contractual relationships (contact with the commissioner, with the scenographer, etc.) as well as work through price-controlled projects (calls for tenders, edition, scenograph, artworks transport) with technical constraints and prior deadlines. – Project management: we are committed, alongside the commissioner, the designer, and enterprises, to the project.
The novelty of the subject
For each of its exhibitions, the GFM works with personalities of the art world – guaranteeing a level of scientific excellence in the target area. Since its opening, the variety of our exhibitions subjects has been part of our popularity and our opening towards new publics, since our program is open to all forms of creativity and themes: heritage topics, monographs, contemporary art… all sensitive and charming angles that offer different perspectives on Art.
“MONACO AND THE AUTOMOBILE, FROM 1893 TO THE PRESENT DAY”
The catalog of vehicles and objects planned for the inventory of the great summer exhibition of the Grimaldi Forum Monaco, canceled due to the health crisis, is available! Evidence of 3 years of work and research into new cars and archives, this catalog of the Monaco and the Automobile, from 1893 to the present-day exhibition is an invitation to travel through time. It tells about the intimate relationship between the Principality and the automobile and the different themes that were to be highlighted in this exhibition: – Monaco, Mecca of automotive history by Rodolphe Rapetti – Prince Albert I of Monaco (1848-1922) and the mobilities of his time by Jacqueline Carpine-Lancre, – Concours d’Elegance de Monte-Carlo: automotive excellence in the Principality by Emmanuel Piat, – Louis Chiron (1899-1979): the Monegasque world champion in 1928 by Richard Keller – Monaco and the automobile, a history of cinema by Vincent Vatrican, – Presentation of 52 iconic cars from the Monaco races by Serge Bellu and Emmanuel Piat.
This reference work – RMN-GP editions – Réunion des Musées Nationaux – Grand Palais-, 312 pages and 260 illustrations, bilingual French / English, in the format 29 x 24.4 cm, is sold at the exceptional price of 29 € (Price public TTC – paperback version) from the Grimaldi Forum Monaco: e-mail: agalluffo@grimaldiforum.com / Tel +377 99 99 20 00 – To discover some extracts from the catalog click here: A hardcovered version priced at € 45 including tax will be sold from October on the RMN distribution network – Press contact – Dany Rubrecht – Director of Communication +377 99 99 25 02
THE GRIMALDI FORUM MONACO
The GFM – The Event Factory is lying along the seafront of Monaco’s eastern “Larvotto” beach quarter, right next to Monaco’s beautiful Japanese Garden. Choose a sustainable mobility! The Grimaldi Forum, signatory of the national Pact for the Energy Transition, makes you share the principal green solutions of access to its venue. You will contribute to the reduction in the gas emissions for greenhouse effect in Principality of Monaco. Think of compensating for the kilometers traversed with our partner, the Foundation Prince Albert II (www.fpa2.org) or directly near your transport company, whatever your means of arrival – By walk: Thanks to the modern public connections, the Principality can be traversed on foot, in less than one hour. All information is gathered in a guide entitled “Monaco Malin” available to the reception of Direction of Tourism and Congress, or in download. By bus: The bus Company of Monaco serves The Grimaldi Forum by Line 6. Plan and Schedules. An express line connects directly Monaco (stop in front of the Grimaldi Forum) at the airport of Nice Côte d’Azur. Departure every 30 minutes. Schedule Bus 110 – Line 100 of the Azur Network links Nice to Menton via Monaco (the closest stop to the Grimaldi Forum: Place des Moulins). Schedule – By train: The Principality is served by two networks of the SNCF and Thello. The station is open every day of 5:00 to 2:00. The Grimaldi Forum is located at 20mn on foot and 10 mn in bus (line n° 6 – Larvotto direction). MORE INFO www.visitmonaco.com –
By electric vehicle: You can park at the public parking located under the Grimaldi Forum, charging your vehicle will be free. You can also use Mobee, an innovating carsharing service based on the principle of the free-floating. The subscribers can geolocate the nearest vehicle 24/24 thanks to a smartphone application. The vehicle can be return anywhere in Principality. The subscribers can station free and deposit their vehicle: on the surface, one sites 2 and 4 wheels or in public parking partners. The refill of the batteries is done thanks to the network of 450 terminals placed in public parking of the Principality. The Mobee service is now available without subscription thanks to a system of prepaid card. It’s enough to be registered online, follow the procedure of registration before covering the starting kit at a distributor. www.mobee.mc – By electric taxis: A fleet of electric taxis is available for Intramuros runs. The basic fee is €15.00 – By car-pooling: Find the useful information on www.monacovoiturage.mc – Disabled access: For the convenience of disabled visitors, lifts provide access from the Grimaldi Forum Monaco car park to the main entrance, and from the main entrance to the auditoria. Contact: https://www.grimaldiforum.com/en/contact-congress-center#.XyrGHigzY2w
ARRIVAL IN MONACO
By Air: The Grimaldi Forum Monaco is 25 Km from the International Airport « Nice Côte d’Azur » . Our partner Air France offers 73 flights per day to Nice Côte d’Azur Airport, directly from 15 French cities and 7 European and worldwide ones. Also, thanks to 7 daily connections through its Charles de Gaulle’s hub, Air France link Monaco to 225 cities around the world. www.airfrance.com – Monaco is 30 minutes from Nice Airport by road via the Autoroute A8 highway, & 07 minutes by Helicopter shuttle – Departures every 30 minute- By helicopter: Nice airport is 7 minutes by helicopter flight from Monaco – Regular departures are organized every half hour by Monacair www.monacair.mc A car service is offered on Monaco in connection with all helicopters –
By car: Arriving in the Principality is easy by the Autoroute A8 highway, exit “Monaco”. Now, you need only 5 minutes to leave Monaco to Nice Airport by the highway thanks to the expressway. Hospitality: High-standard hotels are less than 5 min walk from the Grimaldi Forum. Consolidated by the exceptional quality of its infrastructures, the Monaco hotel business answers at the same time all the requirements of the tourism of business(affairs) and leisure. 2535 rooms(chambers) are distributed on 15 hotels accessible on foot, offering all the styles (classic, Belle Epoque, contemporary, shop hotel). They propose 28 restaurants and 5 spas. Take advantage of a delicious gastronomic stopping place to open you to all the world food. 170 restaurants adding up 8 stars make you discover an international cuisine. Another particular aspect of your stay in the Principality where on a territory of 2 km2 and in a privileged environment you can easily enjoy walking.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST, THE MONACO SAFE RECOGNITION
Waiting for its resumption in September with a dense schedule, the Grimaldi Forum Monaco has earned a new label from the Monegasque Government aimed at guaranteeing visitors to the Principality optimal sanitary conditions in all places open to the public. Monaco Safe is recognition of all the measures already taken by the Grimaldi Forum Monaco and above all a real argument likely to reassure its customers for their event and for their entire stay in the Principality.
After having published a technical guide detailing the measures it has already taken, the Principality’s congress and culture center is very supportive of this initiative of the Government of Monaco, which makes it possible to establish a climate of secure confidence in total consistency with the vast screening operation already carried out on the resident and salaried population. The Monaco Safe label thus constitutes an additional element of attractiveness for the Principality, already recognized for its very high level of safety. For Sylvie Biancheri, Managing Director of the Grimaldi Forum Monaco, “this label, which represents a guarantee at the level of our country, represents an essential argument, it will help to reassure our customers, but also the customers of our customers …” Contact: Dany Rubrecht, Director of Communications – +377 99 99 25 02 – drubrecht@grimaldiforum.com