Musée d'Art Moderne et Contemporain (MAMCS) - Strasbourg

For the first time, this exhibition presents to the public the discoveries made during the preventive archaeological operations carried out prior to the motorway developments on Strasbourg's Western Bypass. It is the result of a partnership between the Direction régionale des affaires culturelles du Grand Est - service régional de l'archéologie and the Musée Archéologique de Strasbourg. It has been awarded the Exhibition label of national interest by the Ministry of Culture. At the end of 2010, 24 kilometres of motorway were built to the west of Strasbourg. As with any project of this scale, and in accordance with the French Heritage Code, it was necessary to check for the presence of archaeological remains in the construction area and, if necessary, to study them. From September 2016 to August 2019, substantial resources were deployed on prescription of the State. Nearly 200 archaeologists, attached to five preventive archaeology operators (Inrap, Archéologie Alsace, ANTEA-Archéologie, Archeodonum and Éveha) were mobilised for the 34 excavations spread along the route. In total, 380 hectares were the subject of a diagnostic and 62.5 hectares of an excavation. The main advantage of an archaeological operation of this kind is that it enables us to observe an area continuously and comprehensively . These excavations have made it possible to discover, uncover and document the long, dense and complex history of this area. Archaeologists have identified traces of more than 200 human occupations from a wide range of periods, from the Middle Palaeolithic to the First World War. The exhibition ‘Un passé incontournable’ looks at these discoveries from a number of different angles: from the formation and evolution of landscapes in the Palaeolithic to the intimacy of the graves of men, women and children. There is a wealth of previously unpublished evidence. They are profoundly renewing our knowledge and understanding of past societies. At the same time, the public is invited to discover the new methods and technologies that are helping archaeologists to gain a better understanding of these societies, their environments and the changing climate on the Rhine plain. The exhibition is accompanied by a publication presenting all the discoveries and results of the excavations. Curator: Bertrand Béhague, research engineer at the regional archaeology department of the Direction régionale des affaires culturelles du Grand Est (Ministry of Culture) and Mathilde Villette then Quentin Richard, Archaeological Museum of Strasbourg An exhibition organised by the DRAC Grand Est and the Museums of the City of Strasbourg.

Having become a place to learn about the world's wildlife, the renovated Zoological Museum is devoting its first temporary exhibition, "BiodiverCity," to the city's animals. Devised as a walk punctuated by drawings by the wildlife illustrator Valentine Plessy, the “BiodiverCity” exhibition examines the ways in which human and non-human city dwellers coexist in times of environmental crises. Is the city merely an ecosystem like any other? Even though nearly 80% of the French population now lives in urban areas, such places tend to be regarded as unnatural spaces. However, a multitude of species and sizes of animals of all origins lives next to us on a daily basis. By focusing on such local biodiversity, the exhibition reaffirms the need to contemplate the continuity of our relationships with living things, beyond our emotions. Visitors will discover around thirty species in five environments representative of the Strasbourg area: the street, sewers, parks, the cathedral, urban wasteland. These five biotopes reflect issues common to all cities, such as the occupation of buildings by wildlife, waste management in public spaces and the maintenance of ecological continuity in the face of increased housing pressure. Certain species presented, such as the stork and the bee, are emblematic of efforts to protect living creatures; others, including Florida turtles and rats, reflect imbalances resulting from human activity. All are associated with subjective values and representations. By bringing these elements into play, “BiodiverCity” underlines the city’s role as a laboratory space in which our relationships with other beings are negotiated daily. In doing so, it establishes animals as a protagonist in their own right. Valentine Plessy is a wildlife illustrator based in Strasbourg. Since the beginning of her career, she has contributed to numerous books and films devoted to animal diversity. The presentation of her work at the heart of the exhibition extends the existing link between the Museum and local wildlife artists and reaffirms the importance of drawing and in situ observation in discovering and understanding living creatures. The scenography was entrusted to HEAR students as part of an art school project. This partnership represents a continuation of the ties between the two institutions. Steering committee: Simon Malivoire de Camas , curator and project manager at Strasbourg Zoological Museum, Samuel Cordier , curator and director of the Strasbourg Zoological Museum. Technical committee: Adine Hector , head of the Territorial Ecology department, Marie-Laure Desigaux , “animal in the city” project manager, City and Eurometropolis of Strasbourg. In partnership with Haute école des arts du Rhin (HEAR) This exhibition is being presented within the framework of the reopening of the Zoological Museum under the joint auspices of Strasbourg City Museums and the University of Strasbourg’s Jardin des sciences

The collections of the Musée Tomi Ungerer – Centre international de l’Illustration feature a series of 83 drawings and sketches made by the American artist Robert Weaver between the late 1950s and the 1970s. This new exhibition brings these illustrations together with those by Tomi Ungerer and two other artists in the collection, Ronald Searle and Olivier Dangla, to explore the genre of visual journalism. This practice, intended for the press, is based on the principle of an artist’s direct observation of socio-political and cultural events. Echoing the tradition of 18th-century travel writing, visual journalism became increasingly popular in post-1945 news magazines, reaching a new peak in 1960s America. After the Second World War and the Great Depression, the decline in magazine sales prompted the remaining publishers to take a more innovative approach, which included hiring leading art directors such as Leo Lionni ( Fortune ) and Richard Gangel (Sports Illustrated ). They would send illustrators such as Robert Weaver, Franklin McMahon, Ronald Searle and Tomi Ungerer into the field to capture presidential debates, car or horse races, baseball games and more. Illustration became more than just images to accompany written articles; instead, it was now a voice in its own right, conveying both information and real-life experience. It combined journalistic reporting with an artistic approach, seeking to render an atmosphere, context or sensitive narrative. Robert Weaver was one of the pioneers of visual journalism. Influenced by urban life and social tensions, he used drawing as an investigative and narrative tool, rooted in modern reality. At the same time, Tomi Ungerer was also working for Sports Illustrated , covering football and baseball games and even derbies, where he sketched American society enjoying its popular pastimes. America is a collection of his drawings, often sketched on the spot, produced between 1956 and 1971. In them, Ungerer explores American society through portraits, leisure and sporting scenes, alternating between realism – inspired by his mentor Robert Weaver – and satire. As a politically active observer, he reveals social fractures with great finesse, as demonstrated in his sketchbook on the prison environment. Years later, in 1985, he made Schutzengel der Hölle , a written and illustrated report on the dominas scene in Hamburg. Taking an almost sociological approach, he immersed himself in the worlds of Simone, Astrid and Tina, collecting their stories, observing, photographing and drawing places, faces and accessories. While visual journalism has a less prominent role in today’s press, the tradition of depicting trials through drawing remains. In courtrooms, where cameras are often forbidden – as was the case in France until 2022 – courtroom sketch artists share the progress of the case. In this exhibition, visitors can see drawings by Olivier Dangla , who covered the 2015 Paris attacks trial ( Charlie Hebdo , Montrouge et Hyper Cacher) for Le Monde .

With the Strasbourg Zoological Museum now due to reopen, the Fine Arts Museum is inviting wildlife photographer Vincent Munier to urge visitors to escape the humdrum, to take time off, to look at art as we look at nature. In the exhibition, Vincent Munier's photographs can be seen side by side with works from collections in Strasbourg's Fine Arts, Prints and Drawings, Modern and Contemporary Art, Tomi Ungerer and Zoological Museums spanning the 16th to the 20th centuries. The exhibits and photographs showing animals in their natural environment thus interact and resonate with each other, giving visitors a contemplative moment in which time seems to stand still. With his technique and his vision, Vincent Munier sensitively captures the fleeting nature and power of the encounter with a wild animal. Along with the photograph representing it, the animal photographed in all its splendour acquires the status of a work of art. In an attempt to recharge our batteries, we increasingly express the need to reconnect with the living. The same is true of works of art, a museum being in its own way a kind of refuge. Here we propose to invite Nature into the Museum. Just like the living, art deserves to be observed, contemplated and protected – today perhaps even more than ever before. In order to "know how to protect" we need to "know how to look." Doesn't a visit to a museum ultimately have affinities with a walk in the forest? Isn't the museum in its own way a kind of reserve, a refuge? The exhibition displays 81 of Vincent Munier's photographs focusing on the theme of the forest (including 15 “cyanotypes” produced in partnership with the photographer Julien Félix and Léo-Pol Jacquot). It also presents a collection of photographs of animals seen at a distance against a white background, a shade favoured by the photographer. The scenography, designed by by Atelier-Aile, provides a sensory accompaniment to the exhibition visit. Curators : Céline Marcle and Dominique Jacquot, curators, Fine Arts Museum