Crédits : Charlène Campos, Translation: Jill Harry. Cosima von Bonin exhibition: Songs for Gay Dogs, 11.10.2024 — 02.03.2025, Mudam Luxembourg. Pictures: Mareike Tocha - Mudam Luxembourg, Sophie Margue, Mike Zenari
Art & Culture
In just a few years, Luxembourg has become known as a real hub for contemporary art in Europe.
With a remarkable number of museums, Luxembourg offers a unique cultural experience in which art and history join hands. This richness testifies to the Grand Duchy’s commitment to the arts and its desire to promote creativity. The city of Luxembourg has in fact been designated “European Capital of Culture” on two occasions, in 1995 and 2007. This recognition has thus served twice as a catalyst for development for the capital of the Grand Duchy, stimulating the creation of cultural institutions, especially in the field of contemporary art.
It was within this dynamic context that the Casino Luxembourg was created, in place and stead of the old Casino Bourgeois. Since its inauguration in 1996, it has become the country’s N°1 centre for contemporary art. Its success has opened the path to other initiatives including the Mudam, inaugurated 10 years later and now hosting the largest collection of contemporary art in Luxembourg. Designed by the famous Chinese-American architect Ieoh Ming Pei, it offers a fascinating panorama of the contemporary art scene, staging works by major international artists along with emerging and well-established Luxembourg talents such as Bert Theis, Su-Mei Tse, Simone Decker, Tina Gillen and Filip Markiewicz, to name just a few. One of the contemporary art museums drawing the most visitors in Europe, the Mudam competes with emblematic institutions in art capitals such as Paris and London.
Galleries have also played a vital role in the development of contemporary art in Luxembourg. Inaugurated in 1996, the Erna Hecey Gallery has introduced artists of international renown such as Marina Abramović and Wim Delvoye to the art scene in Luxembourg. Now receiving visitors solely by appointment, Erna Hecey has also held numerous exhibitions and milestone events in the Grand Duchy. For example, the “Exquisite Pain” exhibition by artist Sophie Calle, staged in the Rotondes in 2007, in an installation specially designed by architect Frank Gehry for the second edition of “Luxembourg, European Capital of Culture”.
The effervescence of contemporary art in Luxembourg is not restricted to cultural institutions. As in other capital cities, many dedicated art fairs are held throughout the year. These events constitute real centres for encounters and exchanges for artists, professionals and fans, drawing an international public and helping to strengthen the country’s position on the global art scene. Among these essential get-togethers, the Luxembourg Art Week created in 2015 by gallery-owner Alex Reding unites each year almost 80 hand-picked art-galleries, offering visitors the opportunity to discover the best of contemporary creation.
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