Musée Légitime

Musée Légitime is a museum that was born inside a hat. It was initiated by the artist Martín La Roche in 2017.

This digital catalogue is being developed in parallel with the performance and presentation of this museum in a hat. It aims to become a tool for memory and writing through words, sound and images, as well as a way of sharing fragments of information related to the stories of this institution.

The idea of making a museum in a hat dates back to 2016, during a stay in Cali at Lugar a Dudas, invited by Calipso Press. Martín was trying to solve a crossword using books from the library, and one of the clues (Nr. 12. Across, Stern area of a naval vessel, reserved for officers), led him, almost accidentally, to a text describing Robert Filliou’s Galerie Légitime (1962–63), a gallery housed in a hat. The account in this book was very thorough yet incomplete: it emphasized the conceptual framing of the work while leaving its practical reality strangely blurred: How exactly did he do it? How did he place the works inside? When did he wear the gallery? What kinds of works were included? This gap between theory and lived activation stayed with Martín for months.

A year later, invited to present work in Belgrade (U10 Art Space), Martín decided to re-enact Filliou’s gallery through distortion: not as a gallerist, but as a director and mediator who would carry, conserve and narrate the works of a museum inside a hat. He chose a bowler hat, invited friends to contribute small or immaterial pieces, and arrived at the opening still unsure how the work would function. The museum took shape through direct encounter: he approached visitors, announced that he was carrying a museum, then removed the hat and began presenting the works one by one, with their stories being revealed through touch and conversation.

That day, what began as a one-time performance became an ongoing commitment the moment others insisted on contributing artworks. New works were offered immediately, and the collection grew through relationships, chance meetings, and repeated presentations. From that point on, Musée Légitime expanded into a living institution: a museum dependent on the carrier’s body, memory, and daily movement, activated both through programmed and announced gatherings and through spontaneous encounters in everyday life.

To learn more about the practical aspects of the collection and the museum buildings, please visit the Museums section of this website or arrange a visit.

This online catalogue of Musée Légitime was developed through a collaboration between Martín La Roche, Dongyoung Lee (design), and Ezekiel Aquino (web programming). KIOSK provided conceptual, material and logistical support for its development. The project has also been supported by the Mondriaan Fonds.

Special thanks to KIOSK director, Simon Delobel, for his continuous encouragement in the process. We also wish to thank designer Astrid Seme for her early support in thinking through the website and thanks to Marietta Dirker and the Rijksakademie library for their support in scanning the collection of Musée Légitime.