A singular institution, MO.CO. reflects its city: free and bold. MO.CO. Montpellier Contemporain is a complete artistic ecosystem that runs from training all the way to collecting — taking in production, exhibition, and mediation along the way — by bringing together an art school and two contemporary art centres under one banner: the MO.CO. Esba (Montpellier's higher school of fine arts), the MO.CO. Panacée (a laboratory of contemporary creation), and the MO.CO. itself, the space dedicated to large-scale international exhibitions.
Le MO.CO. occupies a former early-19th-century private mansion right in the heart of the city, just steps from the Saint-Roch station. Born of a strong political will to unite the whole contemporary art chain — from teaching through to exhibitions of international standing — within a single establishment, it's run as a public cultural cooperation body bringing together the French State, Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole, and the City of Montpellier. Its missions span higher education and research in the visual arts, the production, exhibition, and mediation of contemporary art both inside and beyond its walls, the encouragement of living creation through showing the work of contemporary artists and fostering exchange between creators and the public, and a broader role in deepening reflection on the questions facing contemporary society and culture. Across its galleries — close to 1,500 m² spread over three floors — it stages ambitious solo exhibitions, and has welcomed many leading figures of the international art scene, with a notable spotlight on major women artists.
Engaging the public is central to the project. Throughout the year, the museum's team of mediators offers a rich and constantly renewed programme built around each exhibition, addressed to everyone — specialist or not, young or adult, alone or in a group. There are guided visits and flash lunchtime tours, behind-the-scenes visits with the curatorial team, "carte blanche" tours led by outside guests who present the shows in unexpected ways, and combined itineraries imagined with partner institutions across the region, such as the Musée Fabre and the local tourist office. The offer extends to workshops, artist encounters, lectures and courses, visitor and children's booklets, observation games, and tailored actions for associations, audiences far from culture, and people with disabilities. As a privileged educational partner from nursery school right up to university, MO.CO. invites every kind of public into a relationship of encounter and exchange around art and its big questions.
Le MO.CO. is at 13 rue de la République, an easy walk from the Saint-Roch train station and tram stop (lines 1, 2, 3, and 4). It's open Tuesday to Sunday, from 11am to 7pm in summer (June–September) and 11am to 6pm the rest of the year (October–May), with the ticket desks closing thirty minutes before. Entry is ticketed, and lockers are available for small bags. Outside, the Jardin des cinq continents — a "garden-atlas" imagined by artist Bertrand Lavier — stays open late into the night, Tuesday to Sunday, a lovely place to round off a visit.
Free, ambitious, and deeply connected to its city, Le MO.CO. is Montpellier's window onto the very best of international contemporary art — right in the centre of town.