Sailing the Seas of Culture: Art Explora’s Museum-Boat Festival Sets Sail in Marseille
From June 6 to 18, Marseille will host the Art Explora Foundation’s groundbreaking free and itinerant cultural festival, which will journey across the Mediterranean until 2026 aboard the world’s first museum-boat. This remarkable catamaran can host up to 2,000 visitors each day and is set to transform the way audiences engage with art and culture.
Unveiling the World’s First Museum-Boat
In 2024, the Art Explora festival sets sail with its inaugural edition, featuring a dual venue approach: the museum-boat designed by Axel de Beaufort and Guillaume Verdier, and on land, a village with exhibition pavilions conceptualized by Jean-Michel Wilmotte.
This extraordinary museum-boat, measuring 47 meters in length and 18 meters in width, topped with a 55-meter mast equipped with a sail designed by artist Laure Prouvost, symbolizes discovery and adventure. It embodies a unique blend of adventure and imagination, serving as a mobile beacon of art and culture.
As it docks from port to port, this catamaran facilitates unparalleled cultural exchanges, connecting diverse worlds, cultures, and people in a dynamic environment.
Frédéric Jousset, President of the Art Explora Foundation, reflects on the mission: “Mobility and artistic creation are powerful tools to shift perspectives and share narratives that foster new worldviews. Boarding this vessel offers a singular experience, enriched further by the onboard and dockside artistic and cultural offerings.”
Dynamic Cultural Programming in Marseille
Marseille marks the grand beginning of this cultural odyssey, certified as part of the Cultural Olympiad. Over twelve days, the city will host a vibrant and diverse program of free performances, concerts, film screenings, dance shows, workshops, and poetic interventions.
Developed in collaboration with numerous local stakeholders and curated by Martha Kirszenbaum, the festival’s programming explores cultural connections between Marseille and cities such as Beirut, Algiers, and Tangier. It examines the Mediterranean region’s popular culture, including music, dance, film, and cuisine, alongside the impacts of migration, colonization, and oral history stemming from these cultural exchanges.
Festival Highlights Onboard and Ashore
The festival will take place both on the museum-boat and at various locations throughout Marseille, including specially designed pavilions and the central Agora stage. A rich lineup of local and international artists and cultural workers will present an eclectic array of activities:
ART EXPLORA FESTIVAL PROGRAM IN MARSEILLE
As the grand inaugural stage of this cultural odyssey, Marseille will host a multidisciplinary and vibrant program for 12 days, featuring performances, concerts, film screenings, dance shows, workshops, and poetic interventions—all accessible freely.
The artistic programming, developed in collaboration with numerous local actors and curator Martha Kirszenbaum, will explore cultural links between Marseille and future ports of call such as Beirut, Algiers, or Tangier. This exploration will delve into the popular culture of this region through various cultural practices related to music, dance, film, and cuisine, as well as cultural exchanges stemming from migration and colonization and the oral history resulting from these cultural transfers.
Activities will unfold both aboard the museum-boat, at dockside pavilions, on the Agora (central stage), and across different neighborhoods of Marseille, offering a rich cultural and artistic program that incorporates a multitude of local actors from the associative and cultural fields.
Onboard the Museum-Boat
- A sound journey through the Mediterranean, created by IRCAM x Centre Pompidou, featured on the upper deck.
- The immersive exhibition “Présentes,” in exceptional collaboration with the Louvre Museum, highlights female figures in Mediterranean civilization through a documentary film on the aft deck and an immersive experience in the main gallery.
Exhibition Pavilions Dockside
- The main pavilion hosts “Under the Azure,” inspired by the evocative power of the Mediterranean Sea, its myths, inhabitants, and the visions it inspires.
- A photographic and moving image pavilion explores themes of hospitality, migration, and exile through works by emerging and established photographers and videographers from the Arab world.
ABOUT ART EXPLORA FOUNDATION
Art Explora is an international foundation, recognized as a public utility, that inspires new encounters between the arts and audiences on local, national, and international levels. Its imaginative and contemporary approach promotes new forms of access, participation, and engagement in the arts and culture, pushing the boundaries of digital technology and mobile programs. Working in partnership with artists, cultural organizations, and communities, Art Explora explores all art forms and creates transformative cultural experiences for all. Established in 2019, Art Explora is a non-profit artistic organization with offices in France and the United Kingdom, collaborating with numerous partners and volunteers. For more information, visit Art Explora.
Featured Artists at the Pavilion Exhibitions:
- Etel Adnan, Jean-Marie Appriou, Baya, Cecilia Bengolea, Aslı Çavuşoğlu, Aly Cissé, Simone Fattal, Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige, Edi Hila, Marguerite Humeau, Aboubacar Kanté, Yannis Maniatakos, Marisa Merz, Joan Miró, Lydia Ourahmane, Jean Painlevé, Anri Sala, Emilija Škarnulytė, Soundwalk Collective, Adrián Villar Rojas, Sidy Wague, Dominique White, Luigi Zuccheri.
Curators: Rebecca Lamarche-Vadel and Associate Curator Blanche de Lestrange, Artistic Director of the Art Explora Foundation.
Dynamic Programming Across Marseille
- Engaging workshops, performances, film screenings, and discussions will bring together art, artists, and the public, promoting cultural awareness and appreciation.
For a detailed schedule and more information, visit Art Explora Festival’s official website and follow the event on social media @artexplorafestival to stay updated on this innovative cultural journey.
