- Title: Luxury tycoon Arnault invites Gehry to revamp a Paris museum
- Date: 8th March 2017
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (MARCH 8, 2017) (REUTERS FOR AGENCY POOL) LVMH CHIEF EXECUTIVE BERNARD ARNAULT, FRENCH PRESIDENT FRANCOIS HOLLANDE AND OTHER OFFICIALS UNVEILING MODEL OF MUSEUM PROJECT ARNAULT AND HOLLANDE TALKING OFFICIALS LOOKING AT MODEL VARIOUS OF MUSEUM MODEL PANEL WITH (FROM LEFT TO RIGHT) ARCHITECT FRANK GEHRY, PARIS MAYOR ANNE HIDALGO, HOLLANDE AND ARNAULT (SOUNDBITE
- Embargoed: 22nd March 2017 16:25
- Keywords: LVMH Louis Vuitton Foundation museum Arnault Paris Hollande
- Location: PARIS, FRANCE
- City: PARIS, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVA001673OKEX
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: French luxury goods tycoon Bernard Arnault is expanding his art museum empire with plans he unveiled on Wednesday (March 8) to renovate a disused public building near his landmark Louis Vuitton Foundation on the outskirts of Paris.
The Musee National des Arts et Traditions Populaires (National Museum of Art and Popular Traditions), built in 1972 but sitting vacant since 2005, is to be turned into a multi-cultural arts and crafts centre in a 158 million euros ($167 million) revamp by architect Frank Gehry.
"We had a building which had no purpose. It was even being left deteriorating, it was becoming a ruin, a lack of respect for the work which it was conceived for. This explains the project, which was yours and which then became ours, which answered the question as to what to do, we needed to find a solution for that building. And it could only be something in line with the Foundation," French President Francois Hollande, who was present when the project was unveiled to the media, told reporters.
Arnault, owner of luxury group LVMH, told a news conference he viewed the new project as a cultural start-up, adding he hoped it would be as successful as the Louis Vuitton Foundation, which has mounted successful exhibitions featuring major artists since it opened in 2006.
Named "La Maison LVMH/Arts-Talents-Patrimoine", it will include a concert hall, an exhibition space and workshops for a 50 year-concession granted to Arnault by the City of Paris.
"Our values are about quality, craftsmanship, I don't need to remind you of this, most of the floors of the building of the 'LVMH House' will be filled by artisans, there will be a documentation centre, that's the spirit behind it. Finally, we will manage all of that in a very entrepreneurial way because that's also part of our values, just as we did with the Foundation, and that's also what explains its success," Arnault said.
Architect Gehry also designed the Louis Vuitton Foundation building, which stands 300 metres (328 yards) away on the edge of the Bois de Boulogne woods and drew 1.2 million visitors to its recent Shchukin collection exhibition, a record for a Paris museum.
"To have a second chapter is very exciting for me. We passed this building many times as we were working on the Foundation and wondered what was its future and I'm very happy to be part of the team to figure out what its future will be," Gehry said.
Paris officials last year renewed LVMH's concession for the Jardin d'Acclimatation amusement park behind the disused museum site, opening the way for a renovation of the garden and its attractions.
LVMH, which has managed the park since 1984, holds an 80 percent stake in a partnership with Compagnie des Alpes, a theme parks and ski resorts developer. The concession contract runs for 25 years. - Copyright Holder: POOL (CAN SELL)
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