On the program for the Rencontres de la Photographie d’Arles 2026 is the exhibition “William Klein. This way to Heaven”, closed since July 22, will not reopen its doors until the end of the festival on October 4. Presented in the chapel of the Museon Arlaten, it was one of the flagship exhibitions of the edition and was ultimately only open for 16 days.
A fragility noted on elements of the ceiling decoration led the Bouches-du-Rhône department, owner and manager of the museum, “to close the chapel to the public as a precaution until further notice”mentions the press release. Closed for eleven years, the Provençal ethnography museum reopened in May 2021 after a vast renovation project.
Expertises are underway. “At this stage, no reopening schedule can be communicated. Given this situation and the impossibility of using the chapel in conditions compatible with hosting scheduled events, all of the cultural programming initially planned in this space in 2026 is postponed to 2027. The Department is already working with the partners concerned to define the new methods of presenting these projects.underlines the department Arts Journal.
Does this mean that the Willian Klein exhibition, produced by the Rencontres d’Arles in collaboration with the William Klein studio, will be rescheduled for next year? “At this stage, there are no plans to reschedule it”replies the management of the Rencontres d’Arles.
Designed by Raphaëlle Stopin, This Way to Heaven extends the work carried out by the curator around William Klein, after the retrospective “Play, Play, Play”, presented at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montélimar from June 29, 2024 to January 6, 2025. Studio William Klein hopes to find another institution for its traveling exhibition. The management of the Rencontres d’Arles offered its help.
