This French Museum Is Inviting Visitors to View a Naturist Art Exhibition Naked

A museum in France has surprised visitors with an unconventional invitation. The Marseille Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations has opened its doors to naked visitors for its latest exhibition, “Naturist Paradises.” This exhibition explores naturism, a lifestyle that promotes non-sexual social nudity in public. It stands as a beacon of body positivity and self-acceptance, challenging societal norms and redefining what is deemed “acceptable” in the esteemed world of art and culture.

“France is the world’s leading tourist destination for naturists: its temperate climate and the presence of three seas have facilitated the establishment of communities, which—except for Switzerland—have few real equivalents elsewhere in Europe, where naturism is practiced more freely, outside established communities,” the museum stated to a leading media outlet.

According to the museum, the “new craze for nudity in nature” aligns with a broader pursuit of healthy, vegetarian diets, natural therapies, meditation, and yoga, while rejecting “diktats” that burden bodies.

The exhibition, which opened in July, has already attracted nearly 100,000 visitors, with 600 individuals attending five special nude viewings.

Stephane Deschenes, the museum’s president, remarked, “Nudity is a tool, a very effective tool, to get people to achieve body acceptance. But it’s not the objective.”

The naturism exhibition delves into the movement’s origins as a revolutionary social and health initiative and traces its transformation into a cornerstone of the modern body positivity movement. It features a variety of artifacts, including vintage magazine covers, black-and-white photographs, archival videos, paintings, and informative text panels.

This is not the first time a museum has hosted nude events. Similar gatherings have been organized in Paris, Vienna, Montreal, Barcelona, Milan, and even Dorchester in England.