Introduction

LUMA Arles, a 27-acre creative campus at the Parc des Ateliers in the city of Arles, opened to the public on June 26. Work by over 45 artists and designers is featured in the opening programme, with special new commissions for LUMA by major international artists.

At the heart of the site is Frank Gehry’s 15,000-square-metre tower, a twisting geometric structure finished with 11,000 stainless steel panels. The Tower houses exhibition galleries, project spaces and the LUMA’s research and archive facilities, alongside workshop and seminar rooms.

The Tower houses Philippe Parreno’s permanent commission Danny and Liam Gillick’s design for communal areas, entitled Laguna Gloria. In addition, on view in the Tower are a commissioned work by Tino Sehgal, This Element, and works from the collection, among them, Anri Sala’s 2018 film If and Only If, and Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster’s Virtual Reality Environment, Endodrome, presented at the 2019 Venice Biennale. The Library is on Fire, a new commissioned work by Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster and Charles Arsène-Henry, will be inaugurated in September 2021. In the industrial Grande Halle in the Parc des Ateliers, Pierre Huyghe’s exhibition After UUmwelt will be on view through October 2021.

The campus is also home to seven former railway factories, four of which have been renovated by Selldorf Architects as exhibition and performance spaces. The surrounding gardens and public park are designed by landscape architect Bas Smets.