The old city center of Toulon has an astonishing history. Like all French city centers, it succumbed to commercial centers that corrode the suburbs, which are getting ready to be devoured by online shopping. Furthermore, in Toulon, seven years of the National Front’s reign lead the fallow land to near ruin.
Two men, Mayor Hubert Falco and urbanist Jacques Mikaelian, aided by a crowd of enthusiasts, are working on the neighborhood’s renovation, and, apparently, with success. The weekend of May 13th, the city had two days of festivities for the opening of the Rue des Arts, an urban renovation program of Toulon’s historic center.
With the founding of twenty-five businesses, galleries, and bars dedicated to art and the art of living, the Rue des Arts puts contemporary photography at the heart of its project with a durable hanging system integrated onto the renovated facades to present yearlong photography exhibitions in the street.
The opening exhibition, Là où ça danse (Where they dance), is showing two photographers, Marikel Lahana and Lore Stessel, chosen by Anne Cartier-Bresson and Christian Gattinoni. We decided to show you three other exhibitions from this program: Magnum’s Lebanon, The Bernard Plossu’s Mediterranean, and the towns of Margery Clay.
Jean-Jacques Naudet
