Trouble Afoot in Montpellier: Nicolas Bourriaud on Museum Politics
The French curator and critic on founding Montpellier Contemporain, the future of institutions and why museums will become editorial platforms
Last autumn, French media reported that the recently-founded MO.CO, Montpellier Contemporain, was experiencing a shake-up. Montpellier’s new mayor wants to redirect the institution’s operating budget, and the contract of its founding director, the celebrated critic and curator Nicolas Bourriaud, seems to be in jeopardy. Over email, I asked Bourriaud about his recent work, the situation in Montpellier and the future of museums.
Pablo Larios: In 2019, you opened MO.CO Montpellier Contemporain: an ambitious, comprehensive institution in the south of France that spans a school, exhibition spaces and an artist’s residency. What was your vision for MO.CO and what sets it apart?
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