On October 17, a new contemporary art center called Le Large opens on the Île Seguin in Boulogne-Billancourt, taking over part of the former Renault factory that once dominated this bend of the Seine. Its name comes from the French expression prendre le large — to head out to sea — a fitting promise for an island whose reinvention has been called cursed after decades of failed schemes since the carmaker left. Le Large anchors the €450 million Pointe des Arts development, a 53,000-square-meter complex by real-estate group Emerige that also houses a multiplex cinema and a hotel. The building was designed by RCR Arquitectes — the Catalan studio that won the 2017 Pritzker Prize — together with CALQ Architecture, and wrapped in copper-colored anodized aluminum scales that catch the light like water. Inside, 2,500 square meters of exhibition space are arranged around a central volume: a 1,000-square-meter column-free hall, two 500-square-meter galleries, an atrium, a café, a bookstore and terraces. Led by director Paula Aisemberg and backed by collector Laurent Dumas, the center runs on an annual operating budget of about €5 million. The inaugural exhibition, curated by Cecilia Alemani with the Renault Fund for Art and Culture, runs through March 7, 2027. Moteur Imaginaire: From Masterpieces of the Renault Collection to Contemporary Artists explores the entanglement of humans and machines around the automobile, pairing historic works by Victor Vasarely, Jean Dubuffet, Jean Tinguely and Robert Doisneau with 17 new commissions — from Théo Mercier, Sara Sadik, Clément Cogitore, Bertrand Lavier, Mohamed El Khatib, Bertille Bak and Giulia Andreani — many made after visits to Renault's workshops. The show unfolds in five chapters: Factory of My Thoughts, Driving Forces, Social Bodies, Objects of Desire and The Human Machine. The island has swallowed grand plans before, from a Pinault foundation to luxury spas. If Le Large succeeds, Boulogne-Billancourt will finally have its flagship on the Seine — and Paris a major new venue just as the city's cultural geography keeps shifting westward.