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The Mougins Center of Photography is an institution dedicated to still and moving images, tasked with promoting and exhibiting the many trends in contemporary photography. Open to all forms of photographic modernity, the Center, as a municipal institution, boosts the cultural and tourism sector of the town of Mougins, seeking to enhance the region and foster international communication. It has the mission of supporting creation and experimentations by artists, both French and foreign, emerging and established. This support takes the form of production, exhibition, publishing and an artist residency.
With 330 square meters of usable space, the building’s three-level layout encompasses reception and information areas, exhibition and meeting spaces. Other locales in the village of Mougins fill supplementary functions vital to the proper running of the Center of Photography: administration, storage, artist residency, educational workshops and documentation center.
The program choices are guided solely by the principle of connection to reality through a selection of powerful and timely subjects, with respect for gender equality and proper recognition of women photographers, constantly alert and on the lookout for non-European expression. This desire, this ambition, calls for the devoted application of measures and actions to facilitate the diffusion of contemporary art.

Mougins and photography

The Mougins Center of Photography is part of the town’s vibrant and ambitious cultural sector, visible throughout its territory. In the old village, the Espace Culturel, the Musée d’Histoire Locale and the former Musée de la Photographie André Villers are current and past exhibition spaces dedicated to the heritage of the village and region, as well as contemporary creation. Since 2015, the event Monumental has brought animation to Mougins in the form of large-scale sculptures installed around town.
In the Tournamy neighborhood, the multimedia library has a diversified offer and hosts literary activities. Scène 55 is a performing arts venue for theatre, dance and puppetry. Nearby, the École de Dance Cannes-Mougins Rosella Hightower has a reputation that goes well beyond the town. The municipal Éco’Parc has been transformed into an educational recreational park.
The Center of Photography builds on the photography projects introduced by the Mougins municipality from 1986 to 2019 in the Musée de la Photographie André Villers, where the Center’s administration is now based. This museum held the collection of André Villers (1930-2016), a photographer close to Picasso, including over 300 works – portraits of Picasso or his contemporaries, by Villiers and the likes of Lucien Clergue, David Douglas Duncan, Edward Quinn and Jacques-Henri Lartigue. Between 2013 and 2018, the winners of the Prix HSBC pour la Photographie were exhibited here, illustrating the interest for contemporary creation already present in the space.
©André villers – Self-portrait on Rolleiflex with Picasso , 1957

Architecture

At the end of 2018, the Agence Griesmar Architectes partnered with Atelier Gabrielli Architecture and Anthony Hamon (Agence HA) to propose a strategy for the rehabilitation of the old village presbytery into the Center of Photography. The project was selected for its respect for the traditional architecture combined with subtle modern touches. The Center of Photography is tasked with introducing the notion of contemporary into a visual landscape with the strong connotations of the old village, Mediterranean architecture, Provencal heritage and more. The architectural concept sought minimalism and moderation. Both the metallic strip on the main facade and the space’s graphic identity will interrogate the visitor’s gaze at the village center and guide their visit.
Rue des lombards 1900
©Mougins communication, Rehabilitation works, March 2020
©Mougins communication, Rehabilitation works, March 2020
Second floor of exhibition , 2021
Main entrance , 2021

The Team

The Mougins Center of Photography is a municipal institution boosting the cultural and tourism sector of the town of Mougins.

Artistic Director

François Cheval
A graduate in history and ethnology, François worked as a museum curator from 1982 to 2016, and director of the Musée Nicéphore Niépce in Chalon-sur-Saône from 1996 to 2016. An independent exhibition curator, he is co-founder and co-director of the Lianzhou Museum of Photography, China’s first public museum dedicated to photography. In 2016, he created The Red Eye, an independent structure carrying photographic projects. In 2018, the Mougins municipality asked him to assist the contracting authority for the Mougins Center of Photography project. In 2020, he was appointed as its artistic director.

Director

Yasmine Chemali
An École du Louvre graduate in art history and heritage conservation, Yasmine was formerly the manager of the Fouad Debbas Collection, a private collection of late 19th- and early 20th-century photographs. She then became head of the modern and contemporary art collections and registrar at the Sursock Museum in Beirut, from 2014 to 2020. She came to Mougins in 2020 to devote her expertise and skill in conservation and exhibition management to its new Center of Photography.
ychemali@villedemougins.com

Head of Public Outreach
and Mediation

Sinem Bostanci

sbostanci@villedemougins.com
+33 (0)4 22 21 52 14

Head of Reception
and Shop

Élodie Prestini
A graduate in art and performing arts, Élodie is well acquainted with the museums of the Provence region. She is in charge of reception at the Center of photography and runs the shop.
eprestini@villedemougins.com
+33 (0)4 22 21 52 12

Contact Élodie to book a group visit.

Secretary of
direction

Fannie Hugues
fhugues@villedemougins.com
+33 (0)4 22 21 52 16

Mediation officer
Security Officer

Pascale Brandin