CULTURE: ‘Habiller Une Image’ - a visit at Villa Sauber

With the Spring weather taking a little pause, what better excuse than to put a little museum visit on your agenda!
Today I visited the VERY small, yet precious little exhibit at Villa Sauber. Living in Monaco we often forget that we do have some art shows right in front of our doorstep. This small show has been put together by the students of the Saint Martin’s College for Fashion Design in London and the wool company Pringle , all under the art-trained eye of HRH Princesse Caroline, who is the driving force behind NMNM (Nouveau Musée National de Monaco). The curator-mix sounds a bit eclectic and what you find in this 4-room exhibit appears a bit scrambled together at first, though it starts to make sense at closer inspection.

Grace Kelly’s love and passion for plants & flowers is beautifully demonstrated in an expansive installation of plants. She was the founder of the ‘Monaco Garden Club’ and being a big fan of the Chelsea Garden Show, she visited the event in London annually – so there’s our link to London, I guess J

Another room, my favourite, shows 6 different home videos. I loved each of them. You see Princesse Grace skiing the slopes of the Swiss Alps and teaching her daughters ice-skating. Yet in another short film you’ll see an infant Prince Albert dressed as a cowboy playing with his sisters dressed as Indians, crawling in and out of a wigwam. The video showing Grace Kelly pool-side with family and friends, cracking up laughing and just looking all happy , natural and relaxed, somehow managed to make me gulp up some tears. These snapshots and family videos are so very beautiful to watch and getting that rare glimpse inside a world which seems far gone, yet remains so present in this town, feels special somehow.

Pringle exhibits some 60’s cashmere sweaters next to a small collection of Grace Kelly’s handbags and sunglasses. On IPad touchscreens you can view and read articles from Magazines like Time, featuring the Princesse on the cover and in interviews.
A small room in the corner next to the staircase has an audio transcripts of Grace Kelly’s secretary and a close family friends of hers. Once more, a bit random, but nonetheless interesting to listen too. The story behind the ‘Kelly’ bag is explained and a how she dressed when private or up on Mont Agel.

The show can be toured in a short time, even a lunch break. Or on your way to the beach… Count 20-30minutes as sufficient. Entrance is EUR 6,-
Sadly I was not allowed to take any pictures.

Again, it’s a small show, but it demonstrates in a simple and contemporary manner how this long gone legend and eternally GRACE-ful woman remains still so powerful and fresh to keep shining on this town …

The Exhibition is continues until May 20. Doors open at 10h.

Where: Villa Sauber on Avenue Princesse Grace