the Arlaten Museon, International Festival of Photography Arles, RIP 2009 , 40 ans de ruptures

2009 Arles - France.

Le Museon Arlaten a fermé ses portes le 25 octobre 2009, pour quatre années de rénovation. Avant sa fermeture une exposition de photographies lui a été consacrépour ne pas rompre le lien avec son public.

 

Founded in Arles at the end of the nineteenth century by the poet Frédéric Mistral, the ethnographic Museon Arlaten serves as a site of memory for Provence’s unique history and culture.
Following Mistral’s reception of the Nobel Prize for literature in 1904, and the prize money that accompanied this, he was able to install his collection in the hotel Laval-Castellante, a wonderful example of fifteenth and sixteenth century Provencal architecture.
Thus, the museum became a site of conservation for a disappearing, and almost mythical culture. Donations of costumes, furniture, tools, and objects of culture and superstition by generations of Provencal families greatly enriched Mistral’s collection and objective.
The museum is currently undergoing structural renovation works, during which time the museum’s program will be located in several sites around the town. This project aims to modernize the museum and make it a pole of reference within the ethnographic field. The museum is also taking this period of renovation as an opportunity to develop its public education program.