MUba Eugène-Leroy

About the museum

The Tourcoing museum was created around 1860 and first set up in a gallery of the old town hall on the Grand Place. Its collections grew thanks to Charles Roussel-Defontaine, a scholar and mayor of the town, who encouraged purchases and sought gifts and deposits from the State. After a new town hall was built in 1866, the museum occupied the galleries on the third floor.

In 1931, the fine arts museum opened at 2 rue Paul Doumer, in a building designed by the architects Henri and Jean Maillard. It combines the townhouse built in 1865 for Charles Roussel-Defontaine, former home of the composer Albert Roussel, with large galleries typical of the 1930s. The architects Jean-François Bodin and Thierry Germe restructured the museum in 1993–1994; part of the permanent collections is now displayed in the greenhouses of the former winter garden.

In 2009, the sons of the painter Eugène Leroy (1910–2000) made an exceptional donation to the museum, which became the reference place devoted to the artist, with a dedicated room, his archives and a research center. The museum then took the name MUba Eugène Leroy. It holds the Musée de France label.

Highlights

• Eugène Leroy donation and the “Laboratoire Eugène Leroy” room
• Display of the collections as an exhibition that brings ancient and contemporary art into dialogue
• Rooms dedicated to Jean Fautrier, Martin Barré and Antonio Semeraro
• Graphic arts cabinet with a Wall Drawing by Sol LeWitt
• Room designed by Markus Raetz
• Collections displayed in the greenhouses of the townhouse’s winter garden

Permanent exhibitions

• Collections permanentes – Ancient and contemporary works brought into dialogue, with a display regularly renewed; rooms dedicated to Fautrier, Barré and Semeraro.
• Donation Eugène Leroy – Room devoted to the painter Eugène Leroy, from the donation by his sons in 2009.

Operated by

Ville de Tourcoing

Admission & discounts

Free admission: First Sunday of the month

Free admission for residents of Tourcoing, pupils and students in Tourcoing, job seekers and RSA beneficiaries, members of the museum’s friends associations, and holders of a valid C’ART card or City Pass (on proof). Also free during occasional events in which the museum is a partner.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

All areas of the museum are accessible to visitors with reduced mobility. Activities are offered all year round to visitors with intellectual or psychological disabilities, with trained guides who listen carefully. Information is available from the reception and bookings desk.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

Parent-and-child visits of 1 hour and workshop visits of 1 hour 30 minutes: “MUba bébé” for children aged 15 months to 4 years and “MUba famille” from age 5. One-week courses during school holidays and weekly “4Saisons” workshops. Every April, a free Sunday afternoon, “Fiesta au MUba”, is dedicated to children aged 2 to 14 and their parents.

Getting there & parking

By car: A22 motorway Lille–Ghent, Tourcoing-centre exit, or N356 Lille–Tourcoing, Centre Mercure exit, then toward the town center. A reduced rate applies to visitors who come with an Ilévia or SNCF ticket.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit