Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Strasbourg (MAMCS) was inaugurated in December 1998 by Catherine Trautmann, then Minister of Culture and former Mayor of Strasbourg. Designed by architect Adrien Fainsilber, it is located on the left bank of the Ill, facing the seat of the European community of Alsace and near the historic quarter of Petite France. The building, built on the site of former municipal slaughterhouses, is organized around a large glass nave, offering views of the old town. Its architecture, criticized for its lack of opening to the popular district of the station, results from a modification of the initial project to integrate underground parking.

MAMCS houses a collection covering the period from 1870 to the present day, including major works by Jean Arp, Victor Brauner, Gustave Doré, and painters such as Monet, Gauguin, Picasso and Kandinsky. It enjoys prestigious deposits (Musée d'Orsay, Centre Pompidou, FNAC) and offers an educational path from Impressionism to Contemporary Art. Since 2008, Estelle Pietrzyk has been the curator, and a database of 4,200 works is available online. The museum also hosts temporary exhibitions (9 per year) and monumental installations, such as that of Daniel Buren in 2014, incorporating 1,500 m2 of colourful glass.

Place Jean-Arp, in front of the museum, is an emblematic place of the urban culture of Strasbourg, welcoming sports of slide (skateboard, roller) tolerated by the management. The façade on the Petite-France side features a light installation representing Fibonacci's blue neon suite. This museum, unique in France by its extensive chronological approach, plays a key role in the diffusion of modern and contemporary art, while being part of the local social and cultural landscape.

External links