The one-of-its-kind artistic and cultural attraction will open its doors to the public this May. It is located on the banks of the Seine River at the foot of the Invalides Bridge, with Grand Palais visible in the distance. Fluctuart, is to be a floating structure, free and open all year round, featuring various attractions such as street and contemporary urban art, a library, food services and a rooftop bar among other things. It shall be the world’s first floating museum.
The structure
The 1000 meter square floating structure, spanning 3 stories, is a challenging piece of architecture. It took the architectural firm, ‘Seine design’, almost two years to envision and built the structure.
A Brief Context
Part of the larger “Reinventing the Seine river”, it was thought of as a novel and unique addition to the attractions along the Seine river, a major tourist anchor in Paris. The initiative, “Reinvent the Seine” is a call by the Paris administration for projects to revive and reinvent the Seine River by establishing urban spaces and other attractions along the river that has traditionally been a major tourist attraction in Paris. The initiative is launching 40 projects along the river altogether and Fluctuart, the floating art museum, is one of those. Fluctuart won the 2017 ‘Réinventer la Seine’ to become an ambitious entrant into the 40 projects that are part of the initiative.
France’s first Centre for Street art and Graffiti
The official website claims that along with a museum, the floating structure will provide a convenient spot for creativity, experiments and exchange.
The museum will offer exhibitions, workshops for budding artists, cultural events, a library and a convenient community for artists to come together and collaborate and socialise. It will attract street artists from all corners of the world and from varied backgrounds, from amateurs and budding artists to world class masters of the contemporary art.
Floating art centre will bring together street artists from all backgrounds, including young newcomers, historical pioneers and world-famous contemporary masters. French and international urban artists will find here, a blank canvas to paint on and collaborate.
Artistic and Festive All Year Round
Fluctuart offers free access for the public throughout the year. The public will have a permanent access to the art gallery, and will be able to visit conferences and meet ups, attend artistic workshops, visit pop up studios of the artists, watch movies on the go or just hang out at the deck with friends in the summer months.
The rooftop will add a new festive attraction to the river seine as it will be a venue for parties and meet ups all year long. The floating cultural, artistic and festive facility will be a novel addition to the city of Paris which is famous for its affinity with arts and culture.
