The new museum and the new ambitions of the Arab World Institute in Paris

RFI : You were appointed president of the Institute of the Arab World in 2013. And you are, like the former Minister of Defense, Jean-Yves Le Drian, a candidate for a new mandate from March. What change or achievement are you most proud of during your ten years as IMA President? ?

Jack Lang : Many people could testify that this house has been transfigured, metamorphosed. When I became president of the IMA, the newspaper The world full-page headline: ” The IMA, such a pretty field of ruins “. Today, many will recognize that the IMA has regained life and vigor, projects, a meaning, a philosophy, a dream which is being fulfilled every day, through exhibitions which are arousing growing enthusiasm, through the full and entire Arabic language [avec une certification internationale au même titre que le « Toefl » anglais, NDLR]through conferences, debates, film screenings, and above all the increasingly strong presence of young people from everywhere.

RFI : In presenting the new museum of the Arab World Institute, with the first collection of modern and contemporary art in the West, you spoke of a “ consecration ” and D'” a first “. What is his ambition ?

Jack Lang : The ambition is for this museum to be both a museum of the history and culture of the Arab world, and a museum of modern and contemporary culture in the Arab world. This will be a unique institution in the West, the most important if not the only one of its type, having the good fortune to benefit from an exceptional donation, that of the collector and gallery owner Claude Lemand who gave us nearly two thousand absolutely remarkable works of art. modern and contemporary art.

RFI : What is the rupture, the change in dimension of the new museum compared to the old one? ?

Nathalie Bondil : Compared to the current presentation of the museum, the break, the innovation, the originality, the singularity will be that we will present artists of modern and contemporary art who, through their works, will take us on a journey . A journey through history where we will meet ancient, pre-Islamic, Islamic, popular, indigenous civilizations… Therefore, the artists themselves, with their works, will be so many windows to understand these Arab worlds in their complexity.

The new IMA museum will remain a museum anchored in France which will speak of the Arab worlds, from antiquity to the contemporary world, addressing both the Arab caliphs and the Ottoman sultans, colonization, decolonization or artistic patriotism in the Arab world. How are you going to deal with these themes without having a French or European-centric vision which could harm the universality of the project? ?

Nathalie Bondil : I am Canadian, and also of Mediterranean and Algerian origin… At the Institut du monde arabe, most of the colleagues I work with also come from these Arab worlds by origin or family. All these questions that are linked to colonization, to decolonization, to the decentering of the gaze, to history, to iconography, all these questions will be addressed in the exhibition thanks to the artists, because the artists approach in a very frontal, very direct, these issues which are important and which we must show and expose for our audiences.

Why did you particularly highlight the creation of a section called “ The spirit of Nahda – from colonizations to emancipations » ?

Nathalie Bondil : The Lemand donation, with our collection of modern and contemporary art, will allow us to address subjects that were not present at the Arab World Institute. Previously, we had a collection that was more ethnological, ethnographic. Now, thanks to works of art, paintings, sculptures, engravings, art books… we will be able to approach the Nahda, for example, to show the emancipation of these Arabs who want to get out of the Ottoman yoke, but also the very fruitful exchanges that all this Arab intelligentsia was able to create with the West. We are also going to explain how they were able to affirm their identity by reconnecting with their past and launching the wars of decolonization, fighting against imperialism, asserting their patriotism and their independence. These are important subjects and that the younger generations want to see. And we have very strong works that allow us to approach these questions from a peaceful but uncensored angle.

What is the vocation of this new museum compared to other existing museums in the world ?

Jack Lang : The positioning is to show the relationship between history and the present. The part that will be reserved for modern and contemporary art will be very important. Nowhere else in the West will we have the chance to see such beautiful masterpieces that represent this Arab creativity. And in a few days, I am going to Rabat to inaugurate an unprecedented exhibition at the Mohammed VI museum, with masterpieces from the collection which will be presented outside the Arab World Institute and will tour several cities of Morocco, Rabat, Marrakech, Fez, Tangier…

What will be the positioning in relation to other flagship institutions such as the museum in Doha, Qatar ?

Nathalie Bondil : The Mathaf Museum in Doha has a sensational collection [9 000 œuvres, de 1840 à nos jours, NDLR], they collected very early. Then there is the Sharjah Museum, from the Barjeel Foundation, which also has a remarkable collection [1 300 œuvres d’artistes originaires de tout le Moyen-Orient, NDLR) sur le monde arabe. Nous, on se positionne en Occident ayant la plus grande collection d’art moderne et contemporain. Pour cela, ces artistes modernes et contemporains vont nous servir de guide à travers de ce grand voyage dans les civilisations. L’important pour le nouveau musée de l’IMA, c’était de ne pas concurrencer ce que le musée du Louvre fait très bien, avec un département des arts islamiques extraordinaire, ou le Metropolitan Museum à New York, ou le Victor et Albert Museum à Londres. Ici, nous avons la chance, le privilège, d’avoir des œuvres d’art moderne et contemporain, ce que nul autre musée en Occident n’a en telle quantité et avec une telle qualité.

S’appuyer sur cette collection-là permet d’examiner le passé tout en regardant les problématiques et les enjeux actuels – on parle des questions de genre, de décolonisation, de toutes ces questions très pertinentes. Ce faisant, nous n’allons pas dédoubler ce que d’autres musées font très bien sur la place de Paris. Nous allons apporter une pierre nouvelle. Pour moi, c’est très important, parce que la connaissance et la reconnaissance des arts arabes sont fondamentales – en faisant que l’art arabe fasse partie des arts de la scène globale au plus haut niveau. Ce nouveau musée va permettre de donner la reconnaissance, la fierté, à cette scène exceptionnelle, internationale – qui est aussi la nôtre -, dans une mesure qui n’a jamais été faite auparavant.

Lors de son inauguration en 1987, sous la présidence du président Mitterrand où vous étiez ministre de la Culture, l’aventure de l’IMA a commencé avec les pays membres de la Ligue arabe, une vingtaine de pays. Quelle sera leur part, leur contribution, leur participation au nouveau musée de l’Institut du monde arabe (IMA) ?

Jack Lang : Depuis la création de l’IMA, cela a beaucoup changé. À l’origine, les pays arabes, la Ligue arabe, devaient participer au financement. C’est terminé. Depuis vingt ans, c’est terminé. Donc, ils participent par leur « appui moral », par leur présence au sein du Conseil de l’Institut. Au-delà du Conseil, il y a évidemment les rapports qu’on pourra établir nous-mêmes avec tel ou tel pays. Le plus souvent, c’est avec les créateurs, les artistes, les universités, plutôt qu’avec les gouvernements, néanmoins, nous avons des relations avec certains gouvernements.

Y aura-t-il un porte-étendard du musée comme la Joconde au Louvre ? Quelle sera la pièce iconique du nouveau musée pour attirer les visiteurs ?

Nathalie Bondil : Il faudra en parler avec les équipes [rires]. Me, personally, I have some works that I really like. I think about The mother [huile sur toile, 1965] by M’Hamed Issiakhem [Algérie, 1928-1985], a work with both a political and independentist conscience, but at the same time an artistic conscience. A deeply moving painting from an autobiographical point of view and with universal significance. For me, it’s one of the masterpieces of the collection, but I imagine you have yours too…

► To read also: Nathalie Bondil: “An international ambition” for the Arab World Institute in Paris (30/4/2021)

► To read also: “The Diplomacy of the Mind” by Jack Lang at the IMA (31/1/2014)