A core aim of the European Capital of Culture project is to produce artwork that both supports contemporary creation and promotes diversity. Marseille-Provence 2013 is involved in one such project: the commission of a temporary art installation on one of Marseille's most symbolic sites, the sea wall. The project is part of a coastal renovation project launched by Euroméditerranée, which has planned new cultural institutions such as the MuCEM, the Villa Méditerranée, the Musée Regards de Provence, the Fonds Régional d'Art Contemporain Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and the J1 hangar, opened especially for 2013.

The seven kilometre-long sea wall is a narrow strip of land separating the city from the open sea. It has been closed to the public for years. The Capital of Culture year offers a unique opportunity to breathe new life into this impressive area. The southern part of the sea wall (Sainte-Marie) will be open to the public for weekend walks between 25 May and 29 September 2013.

This symbolic revival is the result of a major art commission carried out by Kader Attia, with artistic direction by François Barré. An artist with many identities, Attia has featured in major international contemporary art fairs, museums and collections. He participated in the Here, Elsewhere exhibition produced by Marseille-Provence 2013, and his work is included in the Le Pont exhibition held by Marseille's Museum of Contemporary Art (MAC).

His piece for the sea wall will be an architectural sculpture consisting of three small clusters of concrete blocks painted white. Visitors can take a "rooftop" stroll through a Mediterranean village.

"Terraces is an architectural sculpture that stretches along the lower Sainte-Marie section of the sea wall. Each terrace is at a different height, creating places where visitors can view the open sea and the city of Marseille, sit, relax, lie down and watch the sky.

– Kader Attia, October 2012