Manifesta 13, Marseille

The 13th year of the European Biennial of Contemporary Creation is set to take place in Marseille around the concept of coexistence, gathering and new bonds of solidarity. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it has adapted its format and will now unfold in stages from August 28 to November 29, 2020.

For the first time, the great international cultural event that is Manifesta will be held in France. Following its stint in Palermo in 2018, the event – which questions the urban and societal challenges faced by European cities – has chosen Marseille, considered ideal for the dialogue around these subjects.

And in this exceptional situation, it’ll be an exceptional biennial. Due to health restrictions, the event has adapted its format by organising it around three components: Traits d’union.s, the main programme of exhibitions and events; le Tiers Programme, an educational and mediation programme; and les Paralleles du Sud, a program of parallel events. ‘Manifesta 13 will not be launched by a large opening rally, but will instead take shape around experiential episodes of different types and lengths, in which individual and collective imaginations will be articulated,’ announced the organisers. Stay tuned for further details.

A multidisciplinary artistic programme

In the port city whose history has always been marked by transition, the event will focus on the theme of coexistence, gathering and solidarity.

Les Traits d’Union.s tell the story of passages, links and exchanges between two worlds. This programme will be presented over six chapters told through exhibitions in different venues in the city, including six museums: the Musée Cantini, the Centre de la Vieille Charité, the Musée Grobet-Labadié, the Musée d’Histoire Naturelle, the Palais Longchamp and the Conservatoire National à Rayonnement Regional.

Le Tiers Programme will begin at the end of August at the Tiers QG (reopening scheduled for June 12) in Belsunce, its sixth exhibition as part of the Archives Invisibles.

Les Parallèles du Sud, a programme of parallel events, will start at the same time in Marseille and across the wider region, in collaboration with many local, national and international figures.

Fostering societal change

Initiated in the Netherlands in the early 1990s, Manifesta is an international cultural meeting organised every two years in a different city.
The Biennale is a platform for interdisciplinary artistic events in the fields of art, urban development, cultural education, research and mediation. Through its choice of events, Manifesta aims to promote positive societal change in Europe through contemporary culture. It also aspires to leave a tangible legacy in the host city.