L’Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA) in Paris has announced plans to relocate its satellite space in the northern French town of Tourcoing, and move the outpost from the city’s suburbs to the centre. The branch venue opened in 2012 but “lacked visibility”, according to the IMA president Jack Lang who signed a new partnership agreement with Gérald Darmanin, the mayor of Tourcoing, earlier this week (22 September).
The new satellite is scheduled to launch in September 2016 with an exhibition dedicated to The Arabian Nights, a collection of Middle Eastern stories—told in the literature over 1,001 nights by the character Scheherazade—dating from the eighth century. “We are currently in discussion with the Louvre-Lens museum about borrowing a selection of Orientalist paintings,” says Darmanin.
“Reflecting the mission of L’Institut du Monde Arabe to build bridges between East and West, the Arab Institute in Nord Pas-de-Calais will present a multidisciplinary programme…. Tourcoing will also be the venue of major exhibitions, promoting cultural exchanges between the Nord Pas-de-Calais region and the Arab world,” the council statement adds.
In a statement, Tourcoing council said that the new IMA “project centre” is to be housed in “a former municipal swimming pool, a historic building in the city centre which will be renovated”. The refurbishment project will cost between €12m and €15m; funders include local and regional authorities along with the French government. The annual running costs of €1m will mainly be met by the Région Nord-Pas de Calais who will provide €500,000.