Start the Weekend with Art: 3 Shows

Sorry for the short notice on this one, folks. But there's a nice art show opening tonight so I thought I'd slip it in here quickly. The show is called ABBYAC and it's on view through September 8 in the gorgeous gardens of the Abbaye Saint-André in Villeneuve lez Avignon, just across the Rhone from Avignon. This year, six sculptors and one ceramicist are participating. The show launched this morning and the versnissage (opening party) is tonight, starting at 6 pm. Everyone is welcome. Showing their work will be Laurent Baude, Stephane Guiran, Marc Nucera, Nicolas Rubenstein, Gabriel Sobin, Mathias Souverbie and Christine Viennet. The show remains on view just through the weekend: tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm. I went last year and loved it. There's parking on the hill so just drive on up...and don't miss the great views of Avignon. The site for the Abbaye (with directions) is here...and there's info in English here...and a bit more info on the show is here. Or you can call Marion Grégoire (06 12 51 15 80) with questions.

On Sunday September 8 in St. Remy, we have the popular Route des Artistes. This large art fair happens a few times each summer, takes over the main streets of Centre Ville and runs from morning until early evening. More info is on the Tourist Office website here. 

If you're down on the coast this weekend, pop into Franchement Art in Villefranche sur Mer. A reader just wrote to tell me about it and says it's one of the fastest growing art events on the Riviera, with painting, sculpture, photography, decor and much more. All the details are here and the show runs through Monday.

Photo: A vignette of the gardens at the Abbaye Saint-Andre, part of vast hilltop fortress overlooking Avignon. The show called Abbyac is ongoing there all weekend.