Centre National du Costume de Scene, Moulins, France

The National Center of Costume and Scenography (French: Centre national du costume de scène et de la scénographie CNCS) is a French museum dedicated to stage costumes and sets. CNCS is the first preservation structure, in France or abroad, to be entirely devoted to the material heritage of theaters.

Its mission is the preservation, study and valorization of a heritage collection of 10,000 theater, opera and ballet costumes in addition to painted stage sets, provided by the three founding institutions of the center, the National Library of France, the Comédie-Française and the National Opera of Paris. The center has also received numerous donations from artists and theaters.

It was inaugurated on 1 July 2006 in Moulins, Allier by Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres the Minister of Culture, Pierre-André Périssol the mayor of Moulins and Christian Lacroix, dressmaker and board chairman. The current director is Delphine Pinasa, whose portrait is exhibited at the museum.

The National Center of Stage Costume is the first preservation structure, in France or abroad, to be entirely devoted to the material heritage of theaters.

Its mission is the preservation, study and valorization of a heritage collection of 10,000 theater, opera and ballet costumes in addition to painted stage sets, provided by the three founding institutions of the center, the National Library of France, the Comédie-Française and the National Opera of Paris. The center has also received numerous donations from artists and theaters.

The CNCS fulfills a triple mission of preservation and growth, study and valorization of its collections to the public. A unique museographic and scientific tool open to the general public, professionals and research sectors alike.

The CNCS is also a vibrant place, a place of welcome not only for people coming to visit exhibitions but also pupils and students from nursery school right up to the Louvre school. The CNCS is also active in the training of professionals working in preservation and art and crafts.

To resume, a formidable tool at the service of the culture of costumes, open to all and for all.

The museum is the first structure, in France or abroad, to be entirely dedicated to scenography and costume heritage. Its mission is to preserve, study and increase the value of a collection of 10,000 theatre, opera and ballet costumes. It also shows paintings, on loan from the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (National Library of France), the Comédie-Française and the Opéra de Paris (Paris Opera).

The museum has four areas: the reserves, exhibition halls, library and the training center. There is a gallery of temporary exhibitions 1,500 square metres (16,000 sq ft) behind eight windows. A large room showcases costumes in a scenography context. It also has educational spaces, an auditorium and a documentation center.

Its restaurant was decorated by Christian Lacroix, and it has a museum shop.

Collections

The CNCS, a pilot programme, a museum that is unique in the world. 10 000 costumes, or around 20 000 pieces, are currently preserved at the CNCS. They come from live performing art, theatre, opera, ballet, dance or street theatre productions.

Nureyev collection

The museum has a collection of Rudolf Nureyev's costumes, as requested in his will to be a "place of memory". Nureyev, who has been the Paris Opera Ballet director had wished to have his collection placed in a museum in Paris, but suitable locations could not be found. So, his collection was placed in the museum in this Auvergne region museum, which is about 3 hours by train from Paris. It is "a permanent collection that offers visitors a sense of his exuberant, vagabond personality and passion for all that was rare and beautiful." The collection has historical artifacts from Nureyev's career including film and photograph material, in addition to 70 costumes.

It was shown the De Young Museum in San Francisco, California through 17 February 2013 in a show entitled Rudolf Nureyev: A Life in Dance.

Stage costumes

Several stage companies and theatres, including the Comédie Française and National Opera in Paris, send their costumes to the museum after their final show. At the museum they are available to be exhibited and preserved. They are also available to researchers and students for study.

Cultural and training spaces

The CNCS now has the mission to be a place of reserves for 10,000 costumes. This exceptional fund is used for both exhibitions and research, made possible by the creation of a documentation center. Lastly, objects of incomparable study, the costumes will be a support for the formation of the conservatives intended to preserve pieces of this type, as well as craftsmen of the arts of the spectacle, called to realize costumes. The reuse / expansion program therefore took into account these four themes: the reserves, the exhibition sites, the documentation center and the training center.

A gallery of temporary exhibitions (1,500 m2) with eight showrooms designed as small scenes, and a large room equipped with a theatrical machinery hanger allows to put the costumes in a scenographic context.

But also educational spaces of 300 m2, a café-brasserie, a 100-seat auditorium and a documentation center of 150 m2.

Documentation center

The CNCS documentation center has a specialized fund: general history of the performing arts, fashion, costume and stage costume, performing arts.

The National Center for Stage Costume is the first conservation structure, unique in France and abroad, to be entirely devoted to the material heritage of theaters.

Its mission is the conservation, the study and the valorization of a patrimonial set of 10,000 costumes of theater, opera and ballet as well as paintings of painted decorations, deposited by three national establishments, the National Library of France , the Comédie-Française and the Opéra de Paris, to which are added many gifts.