Musée du quai Branly

The museum & the collection

The Musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac, which opened in 2006, is the result of an encounter between President Jacques Chirac and the art collector Jacques Kerchache. Their ambition was to give non-Western arts and civilisations their rightful place in national museums, an idea which was strongly supported by a number of 20th century writers, critics and anthropologists.

Today, the museum strives to give full measure to the importance of the arts and civilisations of Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas. It aims to highlight their pivotal role in the global convergence of diverse cultural, religious, and historical influences. The collection is very diverse, both in its represented regions and in its composition: photographs, textiles, sculptures, masks ...

These artefacts are housed in a spectacular building designed by the renowned architect Jean Nouvel. This architectural piece of art has been conceived as a treasure trove dedicated to preserving a precious heritage of nearly 300.000 artworks.

In addition to its impressive permanent collections, the museum presents many spectacular temporary exhibitions, appealing to local, family and international audiences alike.

The assignment & the challenges

In order to meet the requirements of the temporary exhibitions on the Museum’s west mezzanine, Meyvaert was selected to supply 34 showcases from the Infinity modular and demountable series.

For their very first appearance, these showcases have the honour of hosting a travelling exhibition designed by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London: Kimono. The kimono is an iconic symbol of Japan and has become an emblematic fashion item. Highlighting the many different visions of this fascinating garment, the Infinity showcases are set up in single, double or triple configurations.

Originally designed in 2011, Infinity showcases are modular, demountable, and storable, offering a wide variety of scenographic and interior design possibilities. Thanks to feedback from customers who use this solution worldwide, this range of showcases benefits from an ongoing R&D programme in our workshops.

The showcases delivered to the Musée du quai Branly are from the latest generation of our modular products. The handling and sturdiness of the showcases have been improved to facilitate easy and seamless assembly and disassembly, while guaranteeing optimal safety for users. In addition, we incorporated a customised top frame with light tracks specifically for this project. At the museum’s request, a rail was added to allow greater flexibility in positioning the LED spotlights and achieving desired lighting effects. Notably, features such as the ability to adjust lighting without opening the showcases have been much appreciated by the curators. Finally, to accommodate the specific requirements of each exhibition space and artwork, diverse climate control options have been implemented.

The solutions & the result

In a short amount of time, we were able to provide our client with an inventory of showcases, offering the advantages of a standard product, while at the same time meeting their personalised requirements. Going forward, the museum will be able to reuse the showcases in new configurations, catering to future temporary exhibitions. The flightcases will ensure safe storage for components of disassembled showcases currently not in use for specific presentations. The numerous possibilities of configuration and layout of the showcases will enable the museum to create tailored and distinctive settings for each of its exhibitions, fostering a truly unique ambiance.