Encounter with Robert Blaizeau, the new director of Rouen’s museums

When he applied for the post of Director of Rouen Museums, Robert Blaizeau chose not to propose any temporary exhibition projects. Keen to make the most of the resources - human and material - available hic et nunc, he chose to focus first and foremost on the permanent collections and the people who look after and look at them, i.e. the museum staff and visitors.
After a master’s degree at the École du Louvre and business studies at ESSEC, Robert Blaizeau passed the curatorial entrance exam in 2014 and joined the Institut national du Patrimoine at the age of 22; he was the youngest in his class. His "very formative" internship took place at the Musée Crozatier, which was closed for renovation at the time.

Robert Blaizeau
Director of métropole Rouen Normandie Museums
Photo: Alan Aubry/Métropole Normandie Rouen

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His first post was in Saint-Lô, as director of the town’s two museums: the Bocage Normand museum is housed in the Boisjugan farmhouse, while the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire, in a contemporary building in the heart of the town, exhibits eight 16th-century tapestries illustrating The Loves of Gombault and Macée, and a fine collection of landscape paintings. After five years in Saint-Lô, the young curator finally turned his attention to Rouen, where, before applying for the position of director of museums, he took a diversion into administration, becoming deputy director general of the city in 2021. His remit included libraries, theatres and heritage buildings such as the Gros Horloge, as well as community life, the local economy, events and sports, not forgetting waste management, roads and green spaces, etc. "It’s important to understand how a local authority works; this job has given me a panoramic view and thus enabled me to get to know all the players in the area. "

Since August, Robert Blaizeau, 32, has been the director of the eleven museums of the Rouen Normandy metropolitan area: two industrial museums -…