Christian Estrosi, Deputy Mayor of Nice and President of the Nice Cรดte d’Azur Metropolis, presented his project to revitalize the site of the former Nice slaughterhouses, known as the 109. As a space for programming and creation, experiences, and innovations, the 109 is intended to be a place of life and conviviality for artists and the public.
Open to all contemporary artistic and cultural practices, as well as spontaneous expressions, the establishment was meant to house all these proposals within the buildings of the former slaughterhouses in the east of Nice, bringing together artistsโ workshops and performance spaces.
The project was initiated by the newly elected mayor of Nice in 2008, taking inspiration from the PS1 in New York and especially the 104 in Paris. Unfortunately, both places quickly encountered serious economic issues due to the crisis.
The 104, for example, a space of 40,000 mยฒ, had an annual budget of 12 million euros, with 4 coming from private sponsors and 8 from the Paris city hall. When the crisis hit, both directors resigned, and the city withdrew its support. Since then, the 104 has regained its dynamism and artistic diversity with more modest means.
Itโs clear that the city of Nice, lacking large companies that could become sponsors, struggles to finance the 109 project on its own.
The grand announcements made during the inaugural press conference, including plans for building a cable car leading to the astronomical observatory, obviously were not followed through…
Apart from La Station, a very dynamic and recognized collective in the contemporary art community, installed in a small section of the premises (1,000 mยฒ), the 109’s activity program so far is far from the stated objectives…
Letโs recall that the city of Nice manages no less than 17 museums, which is evidently disproportionate to its financial capacities and questions the very existence of such an ambitious project.
Jean-Louis Prat, former director of the Maeght Foundation and an expert on the matter, criticized years ago, even before the 109 project, such dispersion and advised concentrating efforts on the most significant venues.
Beyond the budgetary issue, to animate these places, highly qualified individuals surrounded by capable teams are required. So far, the management of the 109 has been completely inconsistent and depressingly incompetent, far from meeting these ambitions.
You can only smile at the “very profound reflection” in which Sophie Duez’s team has been immersed all these years without any convincing result if it werenโt public money involved.
In 2011, the rushed exhibition “ici Nice” gathered 50 artists whose only common denominator was some connection to the city. A disjointed exhibition, devoid of meaning, entirely turned towards its own microcosm. A perfect example of what not to do.
The few events that have taken place there were akin to large, loud “youth” parties, far from a well-constructed cultural program.
It is certainly not with such enterprises that the image of the visual arts in Nice can compete with the prestigious Lyon Biennale or its model, the 104 in Paris…
The absence of a genuine cultural policy from the city of Nice is glaring here.
Fortunately, La Station, organizing its own events and exhibitions professionally with its own means, raises the debate…
As 2015 begins, the mayor of Nice is thus relaunching a project that has, in fact, never started. The future of the 109 remains uncertain despite the ever-grandiose announcements, which, letโs admit, have rarely been followed by action.
Hope lies in the appointment of Alain Philip, Director General of Technical Services of the city, who effectively sidelines Sophie Duezโs team. This should allow progress.
Thus, the relocation of artist studios still situated in the Halle Spada is finally scheduled. Sophie Duezโs team had fiercely opposed this transfer, even though installing artists in the 109 represents one of the major conditions of this project.
The Mayor of Nice announces the launch of the Movimenta project, with the first edition planned for the end of 2016. Letโs hope the lessons of the stagnation observed so far will be learned!
But the various missions entrusted to one or another person without any real expertise in the concerned fields look more like political rewards than an actual professional team.
Nonetheless, the challenge of such a project and the importance of the necessary resources to carry it out must be acknowledged. The difficulty of assembling a highly qualified multidisciplinary team, driven by great energy, a vision, providing significant directions, and mastering the subject.
Unfortunately, we are very far from it!
Christian Depardieu,
Editor-in-Chief of performArts
