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TRAVELLER
69
HOUG ON CULTURE
◆
MAC (
81 Quai Charles de
Gaulle; mac-lyon.com)
“Lyon’s
contemporary art museum,
in the Cité Internationale, was
designed by Pritzkes Prize-
winning architect, Renzo Piano.”
◆
Biennale de la Danse
(
various venues;
biennaledeladanse.com
)
“The arrival of Dominique
Hervieu as artistic director of
this dance biennale is wonderful.
Her enthusiasmmakes us really
impatient for the big event on
13-30 September.”
◆
Musée des Beaux-Arts
(
20 Place des Terreaux;
mba-lyon.fr
) “This collection
goes from antiquity to modern
art. There’s an exceptional
meeting between the beautiful
17th-century building, the
square by Daniel Buren and the
fountain by Bartholdi [
above
].”
◆
Le Réverbère (
38 Rue
Burdeau; galerielereverbere.
com
) “The oldest gallery
in France devoted to
contemporary photography.”
◆
Institut Lumière
(
25 Rue du Premier-Film;
institut-lumiere.org
) “On the
site of the Lumière brothers’
factory, where cinema was
born. I’m so pleased that Lyon
has its own film festival at last –
it takes place in October.”
Right,
fountain
outside
Lyon’sMusée
des Beaux-
Arts;
below,
PatriciaHoug
at La Sucrière
THE ART CURATOR
PATRICIA HOUG
No stranger to art curating, Houg has been a player on the
Lyon cultural scene since 1998, when she and her husband
set up the Olivier HougGallerie; in 2007 they went on to
create the city’s Docks Art Fair. Last year, however, she
broke away from the family business to take up the position
of director at La Sucrière (
lasucriere-lyon.com
), amassive
1930s sugar refinery turned art venue. “When they asked
me if I was prepared to leavemy own gallery to take care of
this place, I said yes straight away,” she says. “Because it was
a place to confront not just art, but alsomusic, dance and
other creation.” The first showwas a spectacular installation
by Chiharu Shiota that took twomonths to put up: a
labyrinth involving white dresses and 600kmof black wool.
“I thought it nice to start with someone who was capable
of putting on an exhibition in this huge building without
partitioning it up.” Houg is determined to show that Lyon
is a nursery for new talent. “Lyon’s size allows us to have a
friendly intellectual proximity with cultural participants.”