Palate of Tokyo

The Palais of Tokyo is a building devoted to the contemporary art (name of origin: “Palate of the Museums of modern art”), located at the 13, Which occurred of President-Wilson in the 16 {{E}} district of Paris. The wing Is building, which belongs to the Town of Paris, shelters the Musée of modern art of the Town of Paris while the Western wing, which belongs to the State, accommodates since 2002 a center of contemporary art, the Palais of Tokyo/Site of contemporary creation.

The building of the Palate of Tokyo gives, on the side of the the Seine, on the Avenue of New York which bore the name of Quai Debilly then Avenue of Tokio (of 1918 with 1945). A Local by-law of the May 14th 1997 allotted the name of Place of Tokyo (with a C-W communication different from that of the old avenue) to a parking space located in front of the Palate of Tokyo, on the side of the Avenue of President-Wilson.

The building

The building occupies part of the site of old the manufacture of carpet of the Soap factory, transferred in 1826 in the enclosure from the Manufacture from the Goblins. In the Years 1930, this place belonged to military Handling.

In 1934, confronted with the exiguity of the Museum of Luxembourg, and after the abandonment of the project of Auguste Perret for a city of the museums to the site of the Trocadéro, the State decides to build a national museum of Modern art. An agreement with the Town of Paris, owner of the grounds, adds to the program of the operation a municipal museum of Modern art, which must be an appendix of the museum of the Petit Palais.

The contest of architecture is gained by Jean-Claude Dondel, André Aubert, Paul Viard and Marcel Dastugue, whose project is preferred to 127 others, among which those of Le Corbusier or Mallet-Stevens. They build a building of sober style and monumental, composed of two perfectly symmetrical wings separated by a fountain and staircases. The glazed ceilings make it possible to clarify the majority of the parts in a zenith way with the natural light. Unfortunately, installations are never completed, in particular the conference room placed under the higher terrace will be never open.

The building outside receives an important carved decoration: low-relief of Alfred Janniot, bronze statue of Antoine Bourdelle representing France, Métope S of Marcel Gaumont west coast, Leon Baudry east coast, doors out of bronze of the ironworker Szabo with reliefs of Andre Bizette-Lindet side avenue of president Wilson, of Subes with reliefs of Dideron side avenue of New York. Many isolated statues were placed on the terraces of the water mirror: there remain only the Nymphs lying of Louis Dejean, Leon Drivier and Auguste Guenot.

The May 24th 1937, the president Lebrun inaugurates the “Palate of the Museums of Modern art”. During the World Fair of 1937, it shelters a retrospective of French art. The collections of the Town of Paris are presented in the wing Is starting from 1940, while the National museum of modern art opens its doors in the Western wing in 1942, the true inauguration taking place however only in 1947. The building takes later the name of “Palate of Tokyo” in reference to the quay of the same name.

During the Second world war, the basements are used to store goods Juif S placed under sequestration. In the Years 1950, the wing is been the subject of important work which allows the opening in 1961 Musée of modern art of the Town of Paris, made up starting from works of the Petit Palais.

The collections of the National museum of modern art leave the western wing of the building of the Palate of Tokyo in 1977 with the inauguration of the Center Georges-Pompidou. Between 1977 and 1986, a Museum of art and test is established there on a purely transitory basis. The reserves of the Fonds national of contemporary art (FNAC) there are installed on the level of the Seine until in 1991, date of their transfer to Defense. Of 1988 with 1990, the Institute of the high studies in visual arts created by Pontus Hulten occupies the old rooms of sculptures of the museum.

Of 1984 with 1993, the National center of photography (CNP) is established with the Palate of Tokyo, before being installed with the hotel Solomon de Rothschild, then with the national Galerie of Jeu de Paume.

The school of the cinema, the Femis, occupies of the buildings to the Palate of Tokyo of 1988 with 1995. With the project of removal of the French Cineclub, badly installed with the Palate of Chaillot where one wishes to create a Cité of architecture and inheritance, is done day a project of “Palate of the cinema” which would gather, in addition to these two institutions, the Library-film library of film and the image (Bifi). The occupants of the Palate of Tokyo not entering the field of this project are evacuated, following the example FNAC. A contest of architecture is organized, gained by the architect Franck Hammoutène. Important work is committed. But the withdrawal then the departure of Femis involves a revision with the fall of the ambitions of the project, which is finally abandoned in 1998. As from 1995, the Western wing of the Palate of Tokyo is unoccupied.

The Palate of Tokyo/Site of contemporary creation

In 1999, Catherine Trautmann, Minister for the Culture and Communication, decide to reopen partially the Western wing of the building by establishing a center of contemporary art to with it, with a stress laid on the emergent scene, in particular French and European.

Part of the Palais building of Tokyo is then reserved for a Association law of 1901, chaired initially by the famous contemporary art critic Pierre Restany then, after its death in 2003, by Maurice Levy, general president-director of Publicis, named Palais of Tokyo/Site of contemporary creation.

A contest is launched and in July 1999, Nicolas Bourriaud and Jerome Without are chosen, named directing for one three years period starting from the opening, which took place on January 22nd 2002, the Palate of Tokyo/Site of contemporary creation having been inaugurated by Lionel Jospin on January 21st. The mandate of the two directors is prolonged until in 2006. In February 2006, Marc-Olivier Wahler begins his mandate like new director for three years. In the spaces refitted by the architects Anne Lacaton and Vassal Jean-Philippe, the Palate of Tokyo/Site of contemporary creation, is an interdisciplinary place devoted to contemporary creation in all its forms: Painting, Sculpture, Design, mode, Video, Cinema, Literature, Dance. The site, large curved shell, very flexible, makes it possible to organize all types of even transitory exposures, the installations or the spectacles. Rough aspect the “of dismantling” of the building inside supports an approach of art less formal than in the center of art or the more traditional museums. The place also innovated by unusual schedules of opening for a cultural place: it is open Tuesday to Sunday, of midday at midnight.

Since the January 24th 2004, several jugglers and performeurs of the ceramicses meet every saturday evenings on the external esplanade. An association (BurnCrewConcept) was formed with an aim of promoting this common passion.

The Palate of Tokyo/Site of contemporary creation is financed to approximately 50% by a subsidy of the Ministère of the Culture, delegation with the visual arts (1,8 million euros in 2006). The remainder of the financing comes from the own resources: partnerships and patronage, ticketting.

The Palate of Tokyo/Site of contemporary creation became in a few years a place impossible to circumvent in the French and international cultural landscape: it is one of the most visited centers of art Europe, with more 200  000 visitors per annum, and a true place of emergence for the contemporary art.

In 2005, a concession (2  200 m ²) are granted to the level of the Seine at the company Climespace, dealer of an ice-cold water distribution network, which installs there a power station of production of cold.

Future of the building of the Palate of Tokyo

Currently occupying 7  700 m ² on the 22  000 m ² of the whole of the building (that is to say 35%), the Palate of Tokyo/Site of contemporary creation could easily extend its influence to the whole of the Palais building of Tokyo in order to answer waitings of its public, the reduction of the artistic territories and the many projects emanating of the artists themselves. However, other projects were studied, in particular the assignment of empty spaces of the building to the National center of art and culture Georges-Pompidou or at an organization associated with this one, which would organize there in particular monographic exposures contemporary artists.

Dominique de Villepin, Prime Minister, indicated in a speech made to FIAC the October 10th 2005 that: “In addition to of contemporary creation, the Palate of Tokyo will open with the design, the mode, the presentation of public collections or private of contemporary art, of decorative arts. Its cinemas will be conceded according to a schedule of conditions answering the same spirit. ” The Minister for the Culture and Transport, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, specified the February 2nd 2006 that “a global project and coherent will be elaborate, taking account of the success of the Site of contemporary creation, which will be consolidated within the new unit, and envisaging an opening with fields such as the cinema, the design and the fashion, as well as the presentation of monographic exposures devoted to significant whole of alive creators of the French scene and works resulting from public collections and deprived. ”

At the time of the speech made for the thirtieth birthday of the Georges-Pompidou Center the January 31st 2007, Jacques Chirac, President of the Republic indicated that: “the Georges-Pompidou Center, of which it is the mission and the vocation, will control restoration and development currently unutilised spaces of the Palate of Tokyo in order to ensure it since 2009 the presentation of artists experienced of the French scene, in the fields of the visual arts, the design, the video, the cinema. This mission will be complementary to remarkable work of the Site of Contemporary creation, whose action to promote the emergent scene is essential and whose autonomy will be naturally guaranteed. ”

The president of the Center Georges-Pompidou, Bruno Racine, specified with the newspaper Le Monde that an association of prefiguration would be made up between the State, the Georges-Pompidou Center and the Palate of Tokyo/Site of contemporary creation in order to define the exact configuration of this new pole.

Exposures

See too

Sources

Related articles

External bonds

  • Official site of the Museum of modern art of the Town of Paris
  • Official site of the “Palate of Tokyo/Site of contemporary creation”
  • official Nomenclature of the ways of Paris for the place of Tokyo
  • official Nomenclature of the ways of Paris for the avenue of New York ex which occurred of Tokyo

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