Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine). Promote access to culture for all residents. It is this ambition which underlies the creation of a second site for the Rennes Museum of Fine Arts in the heart of the Maurepas district, in the north-east of the metropolis. A flagship project of the municipal program, designed since 2019, which is part of a larger neighborhood rehabilitation project undertaken for more than ten years now. The new site, now fitted out, will open its doors on February 1st.
“The Museum of Fine Arts is divided into two sites, it is not simply a mediation unit created as an annex, specifies Sélène Tonon, municipal councilor responsible for museums. The management team as well as the art collections will therefore be common to both the city center museum and that of Maurepas. » Intended to exclusively host temporary exhibitions, the Maurepas site was established at the foot of a social housing building nicknamed “La Banane” (see ill.), at the end of a rehabilitation project launched in May 2023. More unusual , the creation of this museum site was thought of jointly with that of a games library and a young children’s area which will be developed in a second phase (the work on the entire building should be completed in 2026). “ It was important to create communication between these three spaces, to bring about cooperation, underlines Sélène Tonon. The idea of the project is also to establish itself in a neighborhood dynamic and to create social ties. » And to carry it out, 2.5 million euros were invested in the overall project, mainly financed by Archipel Habitat (€700,000) – the owner of the building and project manager – and the City (€650,000), with the support of the Region, the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs (DRAC), the Metropolis and the National Agency for Urban Renovation (ANRU).
While the building retains its vocation as social housing, the new spaces are integrated into an addition built on the ground floor by the Titan architectural agency, where they communicate via a passageway. The “museum”, with an area of 347 m², has a large patio to host exhibitions, performances or meetings. It also extends to the first floor where there are four other exhibition rooms. Since it does not house permanent collections within its walls, the place will only be visitable eight months out of twelve (apart from assembly and dismantling periods), and free of charge. On the program: two temporary exhibitions per year, presenting works from the collections of the Rennes Museum of Fine Arts, which combine paintings, sculptures, antiques and art objects ranging from Antiquity to the present day. “It’s the opportunity to show works that are lying dormant in our reserves, rejoices Sélène Tonon. We are also aware that the museum has a certain reputation, including its negative aspects. We would like to break its image a little, so that everyone can fully make it their own. » One of the exhibitions will be designed jointly with the city center museum, while the other will be co-constructed with the residents of the neighborhood, with the help of associations.