The Artplexe, on the Canebière, is due to open in October 2021 – Wilmotte & Associates
- Project in gestation for years, the Artplexe, cinema at the top of the Canebière, opens its doors next October.
- This cinema will have six screens and a hall that can be used for concerts.
It is a ten-year-old file that we finally seem to see the end of it. This Tuesday, the town hall of Marseille invited the press to a visit to the Artplexe site, this cinema announced for ten years at the end of the Canebière, in front of the imposing Reformed Church.
This site has no less than six cinemas that can accommodate between 100 and 135 people, as well as a large concert hall with bleachers with a capacity of 300 seats. “We are going to organize eight concerts a year from the opening”, promises Philippe Dejust, President of Artplexe Canebière.
Two restaurants and a bar
Finally, the project includes two restaurants and a lounge bar. “For the brewery, on the ground floor, we are not on a franchisee, assures Philippe Dejust, president of Artplexe Canebière. It will be a broth, with traditional food for about fifteen euros, with 200 to 250 seats per day. For the restaurant on the top floor, we will be in the middle of the range, with a menu around 25 euros »
A project carried for years by Jean-Claude Gaudin, who had ceded the land of the former sector town hall, for a long-term lease of 58 years, in the hope of giving a little life and pomp to a Canebière in abandonment for years. The art house cinema project had however turned into a more classic cinema, giving pride of place to so-called traditional films … while retaining its advantageous lease. A situation which had made surge at the time a certain Benoît Payan, socialist opponent not yet mayor of the second city of France.
The Broadway of Marseille?
A few years later, it is with a certain enthusiasm that Benoît Payan’s assistants roam the unfinished corridors of the future cultural complex. “This is a great opportunity for the revitalization of Canebière,” says the deputy in charge of culture, Jean-Marc Coppola. It is also a revitalization of our conception of cinema, so far focused on tourist attractiveness. For us, cinema is above all an art. And thanks to this project, and the expansion of the Alhambra, the city of Marseille will go from 11,000 places to 12,000 places. “
“Some had promised to make La Canebière a Broadway, but the promise is not there,” recognizes Sophie Camard, new mayor of the 1st and 7th arrondissements. We must take the Artplexe as an opportunity to develop partnerships with other cultural structures in the neighborhood, theaters, and that can help us organize events. “
The look of this new cinema will also be somewhat removed from the initial project. “The initial project provided for a concrete covering,” recalls Mathilde Chaboche, assistant in charge of town planning. They then considered sheet metal, but I wanted to be rigorous on this point. And they finally considered a solution, with stone barrettes. The inauguration of this brand new cultural venue in Marseille is announced for the second half of October 2021.