For the town itself, the setting up of the Louvre should be an
economic driving force and, for the region, a vector of attractiveness. The museum
is should also be prominently being on a hub of Europe. But in addition to
tourists, the museum wants to attract local audience.
TRANSCRIPTION :
BBC news – "Louvre opens new wing in the north"
"" From the outside, the Louvre Lens looks chic
and modern, it's walls of glass and metal, not unlike the famous Pyramid in
Paris. But Lens is far less glossy than the French capital. It was home to coal
mining, until the collapse of the Industry tore the heart out of the city, and
caused massive unemployment. Even now it's sixteen per cent (16%), the number
of people out of work is well above the national average. Transplanting a
branch of the Louvre to the northern France was a bold decision, and at
Tuesday’s inauguration François Hollande payed tribute to the former french president
Jacques Chirac, who conceived the idea.
“I want to praise the decision of Jacques
Chirac. This Art Centre owed it's existence to him. He was the first to imagine
the Louvre outside of itself. He decided to place it here, in this old mining
region.”
There is more than two hundred works on
display. From iconic paintings to ancient sculptures and artefacts, dating from
3500 B.C to 1850.
“I think it was very important for the Louvre
to be in a place where you didn't have any culture before. I mean, it's Lens,
it's the coal Industry and it's a territory which was completely damaged by the
First World War. So you bring something. You know, it's quite a wonderful
experience.”
The Louvre-Lens cost 115 millions euros, but
some half a million tourists are excepted to visit. And the hope is that the
money they spend will revolutionize one of the poorest region of France and
gives the city of Lens a desperately needed newness of life. ""
Wendy
Urquart, BBC news.
1) Rehabilitating an old place with a new project.
 |
| The pit n°9 of Lens. |
The choice of the old pit n°9, at Lens, for the Louvre-Lens’ site,
is a strong symbol which reflects efforts of conversion of the coalfield while
recalling its glorious industrial past. Closed in 1960, the pit lied fallowed. Nowadays,
there is nothing left from the infrastructures, apart from the footprint of a
well. Today,
economic and social conditions remain difficult in the region, with a
unemployment rate of 15%.
Launched in
2003, the project was born in a specific context: the museum will be on the
mineral field “Lens-Liévin”. The new building was built above the pit n°9, that
is to say, which is a deserted place for a long time. While many illusions have
been lost since the closing down of an industry that has conditioned during
decades the life and the employment of the territory, therefore the Louvre-Lens
will become a new centre of life
for Lens.
However it is
not only a place of memory: the museum has collections to propose and explain
to the public. Its must mix pleasure and learning, says Juliette Guépratte.
Schools can go to the museum thanks to buses setting up by the Town Hall. But
what will play an essential role for the Louvre-Lens is probably the public
park that surrounds the museum, which has been studied by Catherine Mosbach to
become a place to take a walk in the city. Furthermore, cultural jogging
sessions will be created to attract adolescents.
 |
| Miners of Lens in 1900. |
But, it is above
all a site of cultural decentralization. This "other Louvre" has
placed its visitors department at the heart of its project. And this plural
form for the word “visitor” makes more sense at Lens. Indeed, the museum is
located in a hub between the countries of the North of Europe, but the
objective here, is the Cultural Democratization. The museum must appeal to the resident
of Lens.
The museum is a
new hope for this part of the region which is known for its difficulties. Its
aim is to attract the population as well as people from other regions to revive
the space.
2) Getting together the population around the project.
“Nous voulons d’abord convaincre le public pensant
que ce musée n’est pas fait pour eux : ce n’est pas le cas” (Xavier Dectot, the director in Beaux-arts editions, a special publication about Louvre-Lens, in December 2012).
 |
| The Project office. |
The role of the
Louvre-Lens is to bring together all the people around the project and various
activities organized by the institution. So, they had the House of the project,
which was very important in the urban landscape until the opening of the
museum, or even the start of the operation "Le Louvre in blood and
gold" at the stadium Bollaert.
First, the museum
should not be in competition with the local population and shops. Indeed, it
was decided for example to create only a single restaurant far from the museum,
and let the privilege, to the establishment "In Cathy", a chip shop,
for the public who would be hungry before or after a visit to the Louvre-Lens.
We also note that there is no hotel around the museum. Again, this is a choice
of the Louvre-Lens to let the benefit to the hotels of the city.
Next to the
building site of the museum, a House of the project was installed from 2009 to
receive the inhabitants of Lens, but also the inhabitants of the region and
tourists. The aim was to discover the museum which was born in front of their
eyes thanks to meetings with speakers, projections about the city's past,
conferences, tours of the building site, or even outdoor events.
 |
| " The Louvre in blood and gold ". |
Finally, we can
mention the operation "The Louvre in blood and gold" which took place
at the stadium Bollaert, on 26th Septembre 2012, during a football match
between Lens and PSG. Reproduces of masterpieces of the Louvre-Lens will be
installed during the week. For example, you could see "The abduction of
the Sabine women" of Nicolas Poussin on the Lepagnot square or "The
stuff of Heroes" by Rubens. The project combines sport and culture, and
allows the lensois to be proud of the diversity and the richness of the region.
Another example particularly representative :
« The people of Lens lent wholehearted support to the campaign, led by the mayor Guy Delcourt and the president of the Lens-Liévin urban area Michel Vancaille. A local support committee was created and local inhabitants were invited to come and add their signatures to the campaign at the city hall. All in all, over 8,000 local people signed the book of support! During a visit to Lens, the Culture Minister was impressed by the vigor of the local campaign to bring the Louvre to the city as a symbol of pride and cultural renewal » (From the Louvre website).
The museum tries
to find a deal between itself and the population. It wants to be in harmony
with its environment and tries to be connected with the city. Thus, the museum
desires to be an exchange place where everyone is welcome.
3) To bring a new audience.
The Louvre-Lens could be a place of experimentation used for the
experimentation of new devices as well as new methods of cultural mediation.
Indeed, the Louvre and its structure do not allow such practices, but the
Louvre-Lens allows new relationships between the public and the museum.
 |
| Touch screen tablets. |
The museum would
innovate by creating original visits with the public: thus the guide is not in
front of the public but among the public. An exchange is possible with the visitors
who can speak freely, which is to allow having a new way to develop a critical
approach.
The possibility
to visit the museum's reserves had been added, which is particularly appreciated
by the public. On the one hand, children can discover how the museum realizes,
for example, cartels. On the other hand, adults can meet professionals who
explain their role in the museum and their daily routine. Without going so far,
the public can discover the museum administration through touch screen tablets
available in the room "Behind the scenes at the museum".
Nonetheless, Lens stays a perfect site to
have foreigners in the museum, inasmuch as it has a position between Lille and
Arras, the two regional capitals. It is close to the A26 freeway, from Calais
to Reims, and the A1 freeway from Paris to Lille, which are important accesses
for English and Dutch people. You have the TGV line too, which is very
advantageous, that is why, you can watch a cosmopolitan advertising on internet
:
This video is based on an accumulation of
masterpieces of different centuries, like the Gallery of time, without text or
any voice, and finishes with a date : 12/12/2012. This
is the opening of the museum, the new masterpiece for the modern time. This is
a universal advertising, which can be understood by everybody.
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