9 – 19 September 1990
For this edition the organizers decided to stress the connections between creation and market, inviting many gallery-owners, as well as directors of show halls and festivals. For that reason, for the first time in the history of the Biennial, professional curator took over the management of the show and exhibitions.
The desire for a certain professionalism was not the only aspect that Marseille brought to the event: in fact, for the first time, the Biennial opened its doors to the towns of Northern Africa, showing works of artists from Algeria and Tunisia.
Concerning the disciplines, there weren’t changes from the previous edition in Bologna, except for the opening up to a new discipline: the culinary arts.
Numbers
About 600 young artists coming from 30 cities and 8 Countries (Algeria, Cyprus, Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Tunisia, Yugoslavia) took part to the Biennial.
Among the artists to be signaled: Andrea Chiesi, visual artist from Modena, Michel Kelemenis, choreographer from Marseille, Let3, rock group from Rijeka, João Louro, visual artist from Portugal, Vinko Penezić and Krešimir Rogina, architects from Croatia, Monica Petracci, movie-maker from Italy, Al Darawish band, music group from Bari and Studio Imitacija Života, visual art group from Croatia.
Venues
The Vieille Charité hosted the bulk of the exhibitions. The Centre International de Recherche sur le Verre hosted the Design Exhibition. The major theatres, such as the Théâtre National de la Criée and the Théâtre du Gymnase hosted perfromances of contemporary music, dance and theatre.
Algeria: Popular Council of the City of Alger; Cyprus: Ministry of Education; France: City of Marseille, City of Lyon, City of Montpellier, City of Toulouse; Greece: City of Thessaloniki, Ministry of Culture; Italy: City of Bari, City of Bologna, City of Florence, City of Forlì, City of Milan, City of Modena, City of Naples, City of Parma, City of Prato, City of Reggio Emilia, City of Venice, City of Rome, City of Turin, ARCI Italy, ARCI Bari, ARCI Milan, ARCI Naples, ARCI Turin; Portugal: General Secretariat for Culture; Spain: City of Barcelona, City of Madrid, City of Seville, City of Valencia; Tunisia: City of Tunis; Yugoslavia: Goran Lisica Fox, Moderna Galerija Rijeka.
Organizers
Office of Cultural Affairs of Marseilles
President
Robert P. Vigouroux – Mayor of Marseilles
Francis Allouch – Deputy Mayor
Management of the Biennial
Director
Patrick Ciercoles
Secretary General
Gérard Gamet
Executive Manager
Olivier Fontaine
Communication
Liliane Schaus
Hospitality
Monique Dupré-Allal
Financial Consultant
Daniel Audry
Executive Assistant
Jeannine Bailet
Secretary
Catherine Stein
Assistants
Reception: Alexandre Aguillard, Odile Bottini, Xavier Cluzeau, Marianne Conchy, Gérard Coulet, Olivier Fournel, Melle Gambetta, Frédérique Garcia, Maria Gastaud, Georges Gregori, Catherine Grisoli, Pedro Lino, Patrick Massoue, Myriam Wassler, Yazid Oulab
Press Office: Heike Brail, France Irrmann, Fabrice Lextrait
Technical assistants: Valérie Bournet, Marie Coelho, Jean-Claude Grauer, Gilles Monge
External Advisors
Nelly Anglard, Charly Bové, Catherine Cherubini, Pierre Ciccotto, Joëlle Giordanno, Françoise Guichon, Isabelle Lesieur, Joëlle Metzger, Bernard Millet, Dominique Olmetta, Catherine Ormen, Emmanuel Ponsard, Nancy Racine, Florence Ricard
Public Partners
City of Marseilles; Ministry of Culture, Communication and “Major Works”; AFAA (Association Française d’Actions Artistiques); European Communities Commission; Regional Council for the Bouches du Rhône; Regional Office for Youth and Sport; Fonds d’Action Sociale
Private Partners
Caisse d’Epargne Bank; Crédit Municipal Bank; Caisse des Dépots et Consignations; Régie des Transports Marseillais; Pellegrin; Groupe Prado Sacem and Scotto Musique
The Biennial was organized under the patronage of François Mitterrand, President of the Republic.