| MUDAM, Luxembourg's new Museum of Modern Art has opened its doors to the public for the first time on July 1, 2006 | |
| The "Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean" -to quote its full name- has been designed by the famous sino-american architect I.M.Pei. | |
| Built at a cost of 90 million euros and offering 6000 sq. metres of exhibition space, the new museum is without doubt one of the country's most ambitious architectural and cultural projects to date. The museum will progressively unveil its collection of more then 230 works by more than 100 artists of international renown, while presenting themed exhibitions open to all domains of contemporary creation: photography, painting, multimedia, fashion, design and graphic arts. | |
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| Picking up on the theme of the arrow given by the nearby "Fort Thüngen", one of 24 forts that guarded the fortress city in days gone by and which is to house the city's new "Fortress Museum", the building combines old and new while resolutely looking to the future. | |
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| The museum's opening had been postponed several times, not least because the glass palace was difficult to fill adequately, especially in view of the absence of a permanent collection. Mr Pei's advice had been to selectively acquire works of art over time, both in order to avoid the prohibitive cost of acquiring a complete collection in one go, and so as to attract collectors who might like to exhibit their works in this magnificent space. | |
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| Director of MUDAM since 2000, the French-born Marie-Claude Beaud has gathered a committee of international experts in order to define the house's acquisition policy and to warrant the quality of its collection as well as its pertinence in an international context: Carmen Gimenez of the Solomon Guggenheim Museum in New York, Stephan Schmidt-Wulffen of the Vienna Academy of Arts, Sir Nicholas Serota of London's Tate Gallery, and Paul Reiles, previously Director of Luxembourg's National Museum of History and Art. Marie-Claude Beaud has remained faithful to the image she has of a 21st century museum: "a unique space where artists can meet, share, critique, and have pleasure". | |
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it comes as no surprise that the opening exhibition under the title "Eldorado"
develops the concept of "Be the Artist's Guest", combining photography,
multimedia, design, sound and architecture. Some 30 artists have been asked
to show their works not only in the "regular" exhibition spaces,
but also in the "intermediary" zones such as the reception, café,
boutique, auditorium, etc. All of which falls perfectly in line with the director's idea that this space should become a "space created by artists, for artists, and for the public". |
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Further Information: Fondation
Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean See also: Programme of events and: MUDAM Agenda
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Luxembourg
Tourist Office - London
last modified: March 27, 2009
