curator : Laure Dalon
illustrations : Fraco
The Museum of Picardy is the first building in France ever conceived as a – museum ! Its history starts in 1839, with the Société des antiquaires de Picardie wanting to showcase numerous collections in a museum to be created in Amiens. Napoleon III donated the lot and authorized several lotteries to finance the building, constructions started in 1855.
While we worked for our exhibition, the museum was closed for a thorough renovation; we had eery visits wandering through partly dismantled interiors, between all kinds of protective wooden scaffolding or sculptures wrapped in plastic. It was thrilling to create the first temporary show for a reawakening art-palace: Century old parquet floorings and painted wall decorations were being restored, the collections freshly presented and enriched with many new objects – such as a paleolithic venus discovered in Amiens just some months earlier.
“The a.. mused History of the Museum of Picardy” told its story in a humorous way, with particular attention to all the wo/men who worked for and in the museum since its creation. It featured objets never seen by the public like documents from the lottery, original plans, the instruments for the laying of the foundation stone, a photo album that was published for the first opening, … but also a vase broken during WWI, photos from tradeshows held in the house in the 50ies, or Sol LeWitt’s model and color tests for the museum’s Wall Drawing.
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media / press
(e)nglish, (f)rench
“Une scénographie spectaculaire conçue par Alexandra Maringer,
qui a donné vie au récit dans la toute nouvelle salle d’exposition temporaire,
en réussissant le tour de force de recréer le musée dans le musée.”
– Musée de Picardie, la bonne idée sortie –
(f) Le Journal d’Abbeville
– NOTA BENE au Musée de Picardie –
(f) youtube channel
– #TheWorkofArt : behind the scenes of the temporary exhibition –
(e) smart places
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credits
scenography : Alexandra Maringer
trainee : Mathilde Simonnet
graphic design : Nathalie Sénès
prints & installations : Julien Delannoy, Stéphane Leroyer
technical director : Jimmy Quennehen
collection manager : Benedicte Rochet
carpentry & showcases : Jonathan Mallet
installations : Jonathan Demagny, Cédric Hanquier, Sébastien Lejeune,
Valéry Marchand, Jocelyn Roussel
extras / trainees : Thibault Berthelot, Baya Hamou, Melvin Lepage
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