LUMA Arles: Gehry’s major building opens for the first time

Luma Arles, the 27-acre creative campus designed by Frank O. Gehry at the Parc des Ateliers in the city of Arles, opens to the public tomorrow, Saturday 26 June 2021.

Work by over 45 artists and designers will feature in the opening programme, with special new commissions for LUMA by major international artists, including Etel Adnan, Ólafur Elíasson, Koo Jeong A, Kapwani Kiwanga, Helen Marten, Pierre Huyghe, Carsten Höller, Philippe Parreno and Rirkrit Tiravanija amongst others.

© Remi Benali 

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 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. 

© Adrian Deweerdt

The Arles project is the brainchild of Maja Hoffmann, who established the LUMA Foundation in 2004 as a leading international philanthropic organisation. The Foundation focuses on the direct relationships between art, culture, environmental issues, human rights, education and research. It is dedicated to providing artists with opportunities to experiment in the production of new work, in close collaboration with other artists from a variety of disciplines, with curators, and diverse audiences. 

Describing his building, which houses seminar rooms, exhibition spaces, research facilities, an auditorium and a café, Frank Gehry said: “We wanted to evoke the local, from Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’ to the soaring rock clusters you find in the region. Its central drum echoes the plan of the Roman amphitheatre.” 

***