"The Parallel Museum" is an idea that came to mind in 2007.
"In January 2008, I brought together a group of 7 children and teenagers to discuss this atypical project - as much an experiment for me as it was for them - to work together as professionals to create innovative tools for getting young visitors to interact with the Réattu Museum.
"We started out with printed documents that could be opened out : leaflets, posters, postcards. But then Michèle Moutashar came up with the idea of using other media (the website or a wall of the museum reserved for the purpose), a proposal the team took up and developed very freely, suggesting photo collages, drawings, videos, sculpted objects ... all of which have resulted in a real installation that occupies a whole room.
"Taking a "commission" from a museum as its pretext, the project had a lot riding on it, educationally-speaking. We gambled on giving the children total freedom to think through the big questions about their relationship with art and museums, and to convey their own experiences of the museum to lots of other children.
"One of the highlights was enabling children and young adults to be together without any hierarchy - their ages ranged from 6 to 17 years old.
"We hope that this wonderful experiment will continue to unfold, that others will enjoy recording their impressions in this small, versatile museum in parallel...."
Manuel Salvat
What participants said:
"We all decided to display a work, a place, some detail that stayed with us after we had explored the museum. We wanted to engage young visitors by arranging and hanging works to make them more accessible than they are usually.
When it came to display, we gave lots of thought to the children’s point of view (the height and gaze of a 7 year old), with different textures and permission to touch.
But the environment is aimed at everyone, because it’s an expression of our dialogue.
It’s a reflection of our exchanges, and the difference in our ages, and the way we experience things.”
Sophie Piot, Pauline Roy, Solène Salvat
The Museum in Parallel team :
Esther Benedetti, Mathilde Blachère, Gianni Iliaquer, Sophie Piot, Pauline Roy, Solène Salvat, Julia Wandel. This project was accompanied by the Zazie association, which receives support from the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regional Council and the City of Arles.
