The Best Contemporary Art Spaces in Marseille
By Keshav AnandIn recent years, Marseille, France’s sun-drenched, graffiti-covered port city, has rapidly emerged as a fashionable hub in the region, drawing both national and international tourists along with a slew of new nomadic residents. This influx of visitors has sparked valid debate, with gentrification – and specifically “Airbnbisation” – bringing its usual mix of pros and cons to locals, as it does the world over. While Provence boasts no shortage of contemporary art spaces, from Château La Coste and the Venet Foundation to LUMA Arles, Marseille has cultivated a distinct scene of its own, one that mirrors the city’s energy. From sprawling institutions to tucked-away, artist-run spaces, here are eight venues to explore.
Sissi Club
Nestled in the Belle de Mai district, Sissi Club is one of the city’s most intriguing independent art spaces. Founded in 2019 by curators Élise Poitevin and Anne Vimeux, along with designer Marie-Mam Sai Bellier, it has gained a reputation for its irreverent and experimental programme. Exhibitions, performances and residencies prioritise emergent practices and a DIY ethos, making Sissi Club a vital space for burgeoning artists and curators alike.
MAC – Musée d’Art Contemporain
Following a four-year renovation completed post-COVID, MAC has re-emerged as a leading institution for contemporary art in the region. Located in the southern Bonneveine neighbourhood, it now features a new reception hall, rooftop terrace and expanded exhibition space. The museum’s impressive collection includes works by artists Louise Bourgeois, Zineb Sedira and Niki de Saint Phalle.
La Friche la Belle de Mai
A former tobacco factory transformed into an expansive creative hub, La Friche is at once a workspace, exhibition site and community centre. It houses 70 organisations and hosts around 600 cultural events each year. With facilities including concert venues, a bookshop, sports grounds, a crèche, shared gardens and a rooftop terrace, La Friche is a dynamic, socially engaged site. The shows that take place in its imposing exhibition hall often focus on political and environmental themes.
Triangle – Astérides
Operating within La Friche, Triangle – Astérides is an international centre for contemporary art. Founded by artists in the early 1990s, it now offers exhibitions and long-term research residencies for both local and international artists. Following the 2018 merger of Triangle France and Astérides, the centre continues to prioritise accessibility, cultural mediation and eco-conscious programming. Directed by Victorine Grataloup, it remains part of the global Triangle Network and focuses on Europe and the Mediterranean as key artistic geographies.
Pavillon Southway
Set in a restored 1880s villa near the Calanques, Pavillon Southway is a unique blend of gallery, design studio, and boutique hotel. It serves as the home of Southway Studio, led by curator Emmanuelle Luciani, and continues the ideas developed in the 2019 exhibition Les Chemins du Sud. Part exhibition venue, part lived-in installation, the space champions a neo-classical southern aesthetic with Mediterranean flair, combining traditional craft techniques with contemporary practices, from fresco to video and ceramics.
Frac Sud – Cité de l’art contemporain
Located in La Joliette, Frac Sud sits at the gateway of Marseille’s Euroméditerranée urban renewal project. Since moving into its Kengo Kuma-designed building in 2013, the space has become a major cultural centre in the south of France. Its collection comprises over 1000 works by more than 500 artists and is shared widely through regional and international partnerships.
Mucem – Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations
With its conspicuous Rudy Ricciotti-designed building by the sea, Mucem is one of Marseille’s most iconic cultural landmarks. Though primarily an anthropological museum, Mucem frequently engages with contemporary art, inviting artists to respond to its historical collections. Artists who have exhibited include Laure Prouvost, Ai Weiwei, Wael Shawky, Faouzi Laatiris, Zied Ben Romdhane, and more.
Unité d’Habitation
Le Corbusier’s iconic 1952 modernist housing block, La Cité Radieuse, a pioneering example of his Unité d’Habitation concept created in collaboration with painter-architect Nadir Afonso, isn’t just a masterpiece of residential architecture – at various times of the year, it’s also a venue for contemporary art and design exhibitions. The building’s rooftop, once home to the now shuttered MAMO (Marseille Modulor), has hosted site-specific presentations by artists like Daniel Buren, Felice Varini and Jean-Pierre Raynaud. Keep an eye out for upcoming programming.
Feature image: Hyewon Mia Lee at Sissi Club. Photo: Keshav Anand