Following the fiascos of the Fondation Pinault and the R4 project in 2005 and 2016 respectively, Dumas’ proposition seems to have broken the curse of the île Seguin.
Laurent Dumas, one of France’s leading art patrons and the founder of the “Prix Emerige” — which supports emerging artists under 35 — has revealed that construction works for his île Seguin project might begin in 2018. Set to be completed by 2021, Dumas’ plan for the creation of a Parisian art island — boasting a 60,200-square-foot space — will be realized by RCR Arquitectes, the firm behind Rodez’s Musée Soulages. Jérôme Sans, the co-founder of the Palais de Tokyo, will be in charge of the institution’s artistic programming. He will work alongside both the professional committee of art galleries and Gérard Garouste from La Source — an association that supports of young creatives. Garouste has expressed his wish to define a “complementary offer to Paris’ cultural institutions”.
The art centre, which is expected to attract 300,000 visitors per year, will house works from the Emerige and Renault collections, and will be backed by the Alberto and Annette Giacometti Foundation and the Gandur Foundation.
The project “Une chambre, une oeuvre” incorporates art into the 220-room hotel that is also being built on the island: each room will feature one of the artworks that Emerige has commissioned from some 200 emerging artists.
