Skip to content

L'installation "No More Reality" de l'artiste Philippe Parreno sera fermée du 17 au 23 février 2025.

L'installation "No More Reality" de l'artiste Philippe Parreno sera fermée du 17 au 23 février 2025.
Ouvert |
Fermé
Billetterie
00
Ticketing
Shop
My selection
171205-LUMA-LESFORGES-HERVEHOTE-9 - Large
Crédits

Couleurs, formes et textures dialoguent à l'hôtel du Cloître dans un décor imaginé par India Mahdavi.
© Adrian Deweerdt

Les Forges

Built in the 1870s and fire-damaged in 1986, this building, which was renovated by Annabelle Selldorf, now houses intimate exhibition spaces, as well as a multipurpose outdoor courtyard.

Some information and key figures
  • Total area: 4,343 square meters
  • Exhibition space first floor: 718 square meters
  • Exhibition space second floor: 845 square meters
  • Cour des Forges: 1,415 square meters
  • Use: exhibition spaces, galleries, café, courtyard, performance space, symposiums, presentations.
  • Opening: 2014

History and initial purpose

Built in the 1870s, it was in this building that the pieces of metal used in the construction of locomotives were made. 

The current Les Forges building was built on the site of the Parc des Ateliers in the 1870s, after the destruction of older forges that were located where La Grande Halle now stands.

Les Forges contained cranes mounted on pivots and jibs that allowed hot parts to be transported quickly between furnaces, forges, and steam hammers.

The parts were then transported to the fitting department, sometimes called turning department, which took care of the machining and finishing with the help of machine tools. Les Forges building was modernized between 1935 and 1939 with the installation of compressed air power hammers. 

Building renovation

Damaged by a fire in the 1980s, Les Forges was the first building renovated by LUMA Arles.

When the Parc des Ateliers closed, in 1984, Les Forges building was used as a storage area by the Ducros and Moltonel companies. Its roof was partially destroyed in a fire in 1986, after which the building was abandoned for several years.

Les Forges were renovated in 2014 by Annabelle Selldorf as part of the transformation of the Parc des Ateliers undertaken by LUMA Arles.

The building is divided into a 2,930 square meters of interior space and an exterior courtyard of 1,415 square meters.

Today

Les Forges contains exhibition spaces whose modular two-story layout creates a direct connection with the artwork.

The remaining interior of the building houses a centralized biodiesel-fueled cogeneration system that contributes to the site’s energy production.

The exterior courtyard, located at the western end of the structure, within the original building, is a multi-purpose space that includes a café and a collective space for conferences and concerts. The L.A. Dance Project Company presented choreographer Benjamin Millepied's I fall, I flow, I melt in 2019, and artist Rirkrit Tiravanija installed his work, DO WE DREAM UNDER THE SAME SKY, there, in 2018.

Pictures of Les Forges

20181013_LUMA_PICTURE INDUSTRY_VERNISSAGE-19611
Credits
During the exhibition Picture Industry: A Provisional History of the Technical Image, 1844–2018 in 2018–2019.
© Victor & Simon
20181013_LUMA_PICTURE INDUSTRY_VERNISSAGE-19602
Credits
© Victor & Simon
240531-LUMA-RIRKRITTIRAVANIJA-VICTOR&SIMON_IRISMILLOT-25 - 1920 x 1280
Credits

Les Forges were conceived to host a variety of artistic practices and mediums.
© Victor & Simon / Iris Millot

 

240603-LUMA-RIRKRITTIRAVANIJA-VICTOR&SIMON_GRÉGOIREDABLON-17 - 1920 x 1440
Credits

A section of Les Forges during the exhibition A LOT OF PEOPLE by Rirkrit Tiravanija, in 2024.
© Victor & Simon / Grégoire d'Ablon

240302-LUMA-All’zone-ADRIANDEWEERDT-9 - Large
Credits

Beneath the light of the Cour des Forges, a shade canopy designed by Rachaporn Choochuey – all(zone) studio, 2024.
© Adrian Deweerdt

240302-LUMA-All’zone-ADRIANDEWEERDT-13 - Large
Credits

In the Cour des Forges, the “Terrasse des Forges” restaurant invites visitors to take a break and enjoy a meal at large shared tables.
© Adrian Deweerdt

140706-LUMA-LESFORGES-HERVEHOTE-1
Credits
© Hervé Hôte
@anne-sylvie bonnet - 1907 - Luma Arles - Approved - Split Step - General-8
Credits
In 2019, the L.A. Dance Project brought Les Forges to life with I fall, I flow, I melt, a creation by Benjamin Millepied.
© Anne-Sylvie Bonnet
cuisine des forges photo hhote (15)
Credits

In 2016, as part of the Rencontres d'Arles, Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari transformed the Cour des Forges with their TOILETPAPER exhibition.
© Hervé Hôte