Journey through the City

With the exhibition Beneath the Moon II, the Museum realizes two major achievements. The first is to open a new space devoted to welcoming visitors and interpreting art—an ever-changing environment dedicated to exploring the full spectrum of approaches to the arts, and, of course, our permanent collection. Second, we begin a very important and fruitful collaboration with the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France, through which we will develop many, major long-term projects.

Beneath the Moon II offers children and families a whole world to discover as they invent their own cities and explore this imaginary environment. With more than a thousand pieces of materials, such as aluminium, zinc, and wood, and the guidance of our educators, groups of all ages and origins will be able to understand, explore, and transform the urban landscape.

Miquel Navarro (Valencia, Spain b. 1935) has long been interested in how cities can suggest completely different meanings, depending on the eye of each individual. The Centre Pompidou commissioned the Spanish sculptor in 1994. Interested in the ways urban spaces are continually remodeled time and again, Navarro created Beneath the Moon II. It was presented in the Centre Pompidou’s gallery devoted to young audiences, and as part of the exhibition, La Ville: Art and Architecture in Europe, 1870–1993. Since then, this project has been presented in 25 sites in France, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, South Korea, China, and Mexico.

Upon entering Beneath the Moon II, visitors will find an open plan that can be read in a wide range of ways: it can be industrial, as there are factory chimneys; it can be traditional, as there are public squares; elsewhere are skycrapers or ordinary houses. But this is only the start of the game. The question for visitors becomes: how do to interact with a vocabulary for a city, which has yet to be invented. Out of this, new urban landscapes will emerge every day.

Beneath the Moon II, within a playwork of Miguel Navarro. Production: Centre Pompidou, Paris.
© Museo de la Ciudad.

Beneath the Moon II, a playwork of Miguel Navarro. Production: Centre Pompidou, Paris. © Rivages, Genève.