Project and history
Founded by artists between 1992 and 1994, Triangle-Astérides is a contemporary art center of national interest located in Marseille. It is unique in that it is a member of a cultural cooperative, the Friche la Belle de Mai, of which it is one of the founding organizations.
Triangle-Astérides brings together exhibitions and research residencies for French and international artists as well as local associated artists. Associated audiences, events, editorial programming, and close attention to cultural mediation to serve the largest possible audience enrich and complete the program. To best meet the needs of each visitor, Triangle-Astérides aims for accessibility whenever possible (PRM, guided tours in FSL, and audio description or easy to read and understand upon request).
Triangle-Astérides has inherited international networks (through the Triangle Network, from which it was created and of which it remains a member organization), national networks, and local networks (through the merger of the Triangle France and Astérides associations in 2018). Connecting these different scales is at the heart of all of its activities. With a view to eco-responsibility, Triangle-Astérides now co-produces all of its exhibitions.
Triangle-Astérides is a nonprofit organization that receives funding from the City of Marseille, the Ministry of Culture – DRAC Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Region, and the Bouches-du-Rhône Department.
Key dates
— 1992: simultaneous creation of Astérides (by artists Gilles Barbier, Claire Maugeais, Jean-Christophe Nourisson and Sandrine Raquin) and the Système Friche Théâtre (SFT) association to manage and develop the Friche Belle de Mai project. The reconversion of this factory is in its early stages. Asterides took over the fifth floor of the Tower and built the first artists’ studios in the Wasteland, in what was the refectory of the Seita factory. The residencies began in 1993.
— 1994: creation at Friche Belle de Mai of Triangle France by artists Claire Lesteven (resident of Astérides) and Alun William (resident of Astérides and member of the Board of Directors of the Triangle Network founded in 1982 in New York, US , by the British Anthony Caro, artist, and Robert Loder, collector). The Triangle Network network is today inclued associative structures present in 40 countries around the world.
— 1995: Triangle France international workshop at the Marseille School of Fine Arts.
— 1997: development of the first exhibition space at La Friche and start of the regular program of Astérides and Triangle France (immediately mixing resident and guest artists).
— 2007: a Cooperative Society of Collective Interest (SCIC) is formed by the SFT association and historic residents of Friche Belle de Mai, including Triangle France.
— 2018: the Astérides and Triangle France associations pool their missions, programs and expertises. The association born from the merger is called Triangle-Asterides.
— 2021: Triangle-Asterides receives the label “Contemporary Art Center of National Interest” from the Ministry of Culture.
— 2024: for its 30th anniversary and thanks to the investment of its public partners, Triangle-Asterides is equipped with a new graphic identity and a new online platform reflecting the density and diversity of its programs (exhibitions and events, but also resident and associated artists, associate audiences, other public and editorial programs).