Art, immersive exhibitions, concerts, workshops and debates on the climate or migration in the Mediterranean are some of the proposals that arrived this Thursday for the first time in Spain thanks to the world’s first museum shipa cultural sailboat that has just docked in the port of Malaga and can be visited until November 10.
This ship, built at the Perini Navi shipyard in Italy, designed by the prestigious architects Axel de Beaufort and Guillaume Verdier and which measures 47 meters in length and 55 meters in height, is part of Artistic explorationa traveling festival that travels the seas and oceans of the world with its museum ship, where it offers innovative artistic and cultural experiences free of charge.
From its departure from Malta in March 2024 until autumn 2026, the world’s first museum ship will travel to 15 countries of the Mediterranean bringing together artists, curators, cultural, associative and educational organizations who, collectively, will imagine a new vision of “Mare nostrum”.
Thus, some of the countries it will visit are Italy, France, Egypt, Greece, Turkey, Albania or Spain, where the festival will offer immersive experiences in collaboration with the Louvre Museum and IRCAM x Pompidou Center but also in different spaces in the heart of the host city.
On board
On board the ship, the visit takes place in three stages. First of all, visitors can discover on the upper deck of the catamaran “the Odyssey of Sound” which offers a sound journey across the Mediterranean. Through this experience, the Research Institute in Acoustics and Music of the Pompidou invites visitors to explore the sensations of the Mediterranean and to discover new imaginary or real landscapes. Thus, it is an immersive journey of 11 minutes and 30 seconds which allows the public to discover, with their eyes closed, the richness and diversity of the Mediterranean.
After that, visitors can visit a documentary on the rear deck of the catamaran: an immersive 10-minute audiovisual work on the representation of women in arts and cultures of the ancient Mediterranean. Based on an original screenplay by Sophie Caron, this documentary highlights the context of the works in the Louvre collections. Through a narrative journey from Mesopotamia to Roman Egypt, via Greek worldthe visitor will meet goddesses, priestesses, muses, artists, mothers, artisans, sovereigns and many other female figures, through the artistic and archaeological objects of these civilizations.
Finally, the curious will be able to contemplate the immersive exhibition ‘Presentes’ at the heart of the catamaran, an exhibition which focuses on the female figures of Mediterranean civilizations through the collections of the Museum of Louver. Through its collections, the Louvre preserves a more moving testimony: the voice of humanity’s first poetHigh Priestess Enheduanna. One of his poems in the first person, written to praise the great Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar, allows us to hear for the first time a singular voice which, while glorifying the power of this goddess, manifests itself as well in anger and fury as in joy and happiness. , looks back on certain painful episodes from his personal experience.
Under the aegis of this founding figure, the exhibition will bring together faces and livesfrom Egypt, Mesopotamia, Athens and Rome to 18th century sculpture, to open the way to an unprecedented discovery of the collections of the Louvre Museum and the girl power that these contain. The total duration of the vessel visit is estimated at 1 hour and 15 minutes.
out of the boat
In addition to the proposals inside the ship, the Art Explora festival offers in the port from the cities in which it docks, alongside the sailboat, a varied program combining music, shows, conferences, film screenings and a vast mediation program for schools and families.
There will also be spaces to celebrate the local culture and its relations with the Mediterranean. Thus, the festival’s live programming will feature artists such as the dancer and choreographer Tombs of Yinka Esithe artists Leonor Serrano Rivas and Diego Delas, the actress Alessandra García, the writer Juan Gallego Benot, the poet Ángelo Nestore or the curator Alicia Navarroamong others.
Thanks to this initiative, Spanish creators will also be able to exchange opinionsperspectives and points of view with those of other countries.
The Art Explora Festival received the high sponsorship of president of the French Republic. In addition to the numerous associations, NGOcultural and environmental institutions, businesses and local authorities that are part of the project, is also co-financed by the European Union and benefits from the support of UNESCO.
