Description

Throughout the year, the Casino Luxembourg - Forum d’Art Contemporain organises exhibitions on modern international art, underlining the diversity and complexity of current trends. The name of the art centre was inspired from the building in which it is housed, the former ‘Casino Bourgeois’, a Neo-Baroque building raised at the end of the 19th century, adorned with Art Deco elements. Since the beginning, the building has been an important cultural meeting point for the city, housing diverse artistic activities and cosmopolitan parties. Among others, Franz Liszt gave an impromptu recital there in 1886, the last public performance of the famous composer deceased a few weeks later in Bayreuth.

In the mid-20th century, the Casino was bought back by the Luxembourg State and renamed ‘Foyer Européen’ (‘European Foyer’). Until 1990 it remained the centre of cultural and worldly events of the European Community in Luxembourg. In the scope of ‘Luxembourg, European Capital of Culture 1995’, the building was transformed into an exhibition space. Within a short time, white cubes were inserted into the halls, interacting ingeniously with the ancient walls, its stucco and ornaments. This transformation helped welcome the most prestigious exhibitions of the cultural year. It is as an extension of this very successful experience that the Casino Luxembourg – Forum d’Art Contemporain association was created and started its activity in 1996.

Its programming emphasises collective and themed exhibitions, where new discoveries rub shoulders with the great names of contemporary art in presentations wanting to emphasise the originality and pertinence of artistic trends. In doing so, numerous artists known today have benefited from a first major monographic presentation at the Casino Luxembourg. All the exhibitions are completed by a varied programme of guided and themed visits, conferences, discussions and meetings with contemporary music – the latter often paying tribute to Franz Liszt.