Bordeaux, France - A 40,000-square-metre German submarine bunker from World War Two described as a gray monster and considered the curse of the river Garonne has become one of the most visited art spots in Bordeaux. "This used to be the no-man's land of the docks," said Brigitte Proucelle, director of Bordeaux's office of culture. "People used to turn their backs on this place. Only art can have such a transformative effect."
For nearly 10 years jazz concerts have been held in the steel and concrete structure with its numerous boat chambers as have dance festivals. The current art exhibit Evento, the first free biannual festival for contemporary art, is meant to be another step to elevating Bordeaux, which recently has undergone a rehabilitation, to the status of a cultural city.
The entrance to the Nazi-era submarine bunker looks like a monstrous animal opening its mouth as if to gobble up the visitor in its gigantic interior made of 600,000 cubic metres of concrete forming 11 wet bays. It is a gigantic, eerie and at the same time fascinating place that poses a challenge to every artist. Not everyone is as successful in utilising the indestructible bunker as Israeli filmmaker Amos Gitai.
As part of the Evento exhibit he projected excerpts from his films onto the thick concrete walls that reflect peculiarly in the water of the submarine chambers. He aims to let his films' impressive short views and positioning of the image on the wall affect visitors. The subjects are home and exile, borders and border crossings.
The submarine bunker also is a cultural attraction for dance and jazz festivals. Both kinds of events attract people to the concrete structure in droves. On New Year's Eve, for example, 2,500 people celebrated at the bunker, said Proucelle.
Aside from the bunker there's nothing remarkable about the part of Bordeaux where it is located, which is about two kilometres outside the city's old town.
The submarine bunker was built between 1941 and 1943 by about 2,500 prisoners of war. Its size is its most impressive feature, but the city wants to change that. The buildings that border it, which served as administration buildings for the Germans, are now artists' residences. In the long term a new city section is expected to be built around the bunker.
Alain Juppe, mayor of Bordeaux and former prime minister of France, wants to make his city of 230,000 into one of the most visited cultural centres of France. In any case he already has completely changed the image of the city by having a tram built and by renovating and restoring the city's old town.
The quayside has become a favourite promenade among residents of Bordeaux and with the arrival of the tram, the city now has not only a modern and environmentally friendly means of transportation, but also more art on public view. As in Paris and Nice, works of art are placed along the tramline.
One of the most notable works is an installation by the Russian artist pair Ilya and Emilia Kabakov. It depicts a single-family home with a window through which onlookers can catch a glimpse into the life of others - and at the same time look into their own existence.
The Evento art exhibit arose from Bordeaux's participation in the competition for the title of European culture capital for 2013. The city lost to Marseille, which was chosen over Bordeaux, Lyon and Toulouse as France's cultural capital for 2013. It shares the distinction with Kosice in Slovakia. Nevertheless, Bordeaux is on UNESCO's world heritage list and is home to other museums, and art and culture centres beyond the massive submarine bunker.
What Bordeaux still has to prove is that it can present art over the long term. The 10-day Evento, which ended October 18 and in which more than 60 artists participated, is a beginning that holds much promise.
