Journées du Patrimoine is This Weekend

It's that time again: The wonderful annual Journées du Patrimoine (Heritage Days) takes place tomorrow and Sunday, September 15 and 16, in cities and villages all over France; a few have activities today as well. The program was started by the French Ministry of Culture in 1984 and has since spread all over Europe (where it's called European Heritage Days). This is the 35th year, the theme is "The Art of Sharing" and roughly 17,000 sites are participating. It's one of my favorite weekends of the year.

The idea is that a wide range of historic monuments, buildings, estates, gardens and domaines are open for special visits...along with many sites that are normally closed to the public. Most sites have a guide on hand to enhance your enjoyment of the visit (most tours and talks are in French) and most offer free entry. Some may require you to sign up in advance...but for the most part, you just show up. 

The website with all the participating venues is here (or in English here) but you'll do much better checking in with the Tourist Office or the tourism website of the village or city you want to visit. For example, the region-by-region Patrimoine page here lists just two participating sites in my village of St. Remy. But as in years past, the village has published its own terrific guide and this year there are 24 participating sites. You can see them all, with the map, here. You can also pick up a printed copy at the Tourist Office or at most of the participating sites.

The best idea is to choose the village you wish to explore, pick up or download their schedule as early as possible and map your route, because some events happen only at certain times.

Here are some listings for various Provence departments, to get you started: Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Alpes-Maritimes, Bouches du Rhone, the Gard (not really Provence but never mind), the Hautes-Alpes, the Var and the Vaucluse. 

And here's a list of most of the Tourist Offices in Provence and they should be able to help. Enjoy!

Fundraiser for Camargue Cowboys March 18

Let's give it up for the Gardians! On Sunday March 18, 2018 at Domaine Paul Ricard de Méjanes in the Camargue, the Rotary Club des Baux de Provence is hosting a full-day event to raise funds for the Mutuelle des Gardians, which supports the men and women who work the manades (ranches) of this legendary "Wild West" region of Provence. The mutuelle is a supplement,  not unlike the one used for mountain guides, which helps families with expenses following a serious work accident or a death.

"This 'day in the country' will help all of us to better appreciate these amazingly passionate and devoted people," says Larry Ware, vice president of the Rotary.  "It will also help visitors discover the Camargue 'profonde' and hopefully create a closer bond with this remarkable and authentic region and its people.

"We're hoping it finds a place on the Camargue calendar every year," Larry continues. "Two years ago, on a rainy day, we were still able to raise 3000€. This year the weather promises to be wonderful and we hope to do even better."

Larry advises turning up at Méjanes before 10 am. The program begins in the Arena (plaza) at 10:30 with a demo of the "Course Camarguaise," the traditional bull games. This will be followed by a demo by a traditional Camargue bullfighter; neither bulls nor men will be hurt! Then there will be a display on horseback of how the Gardians work with cattle...cows not bulls this time. 

An apéritif and lunch will be served in the restaurant at 12:45. 

After lunch, everyone is welcome to join a roundtable discussion with Camargue residents, dignitaries, ranch owners and Gardians. "This is an important opportunity for the Camarguais to voice their concerns and for participants to ask questions," Larry says. "The roundtable will be in French but I'll be on hand to translate if needed." There will also be activities for kids such as rides on the train to see bulls, horses and birds and a tombola (raffle) for the adults. And all this will be set to the wonderful music of gypsy musicians...signature sound of the Camargue.

"The Gardians are very hardworking, passionate about where they live and work and uniquely authentic." Larry says, "They're truly the soul of the region. This  is such a worthy cause and a gesture of recognition. My club, the Gardians and I  really hope we'll have the pleasure of seeing a number of your readers on March 18th!"

Tickets are 30€ adults and 15€ kids, which includes all events plus lunch with wine and coffee. All entrance fees and raffle earnings go directly to the Mutuelle.

For questions and reservations: ware42larry@gmail.com, +33 (0)6 19 05 31 90. Or, send a check directly to Etienne Pirot, 89, Chemin des Oliviers, 13750, Plan D’Orgon, France.

Larry asked me to mention that the Rotary Club Des Baux de Provence is always looking for new international members, both expats and part-timers, both men and women.  "We have a number of English speaking French, German and Belgian members, so language won't be too much of a problem."

Photos: A few of my favorite Gardian shots (courtesy of the Manades Jacques Bon and Hotel Mas de Peint).  The map shows where in the Camargue the March 18 fundraiser will be held. The poster is easier to read if you click on it. 

Picasso Opens March 2 in Les Baux...and Paris News

The Carrières de Lumières (Quarries of Light) is a magical space in a vast cave-like quarry at the base of the hilltop village of Les Baux de Provence. There in the cool darkness, close to 100 video projectors and 27 speakers generate the choreographed movement of 2,000 images over an area of more than 75,000 square feet, onto walls as high as 45 feet, onto the ceilings and even the floor. The sound-and-light show changes once a year and has become one of the most-popular sites in Provence. Since its opening in 2012, Les Carrières de Lumières has attracted roughly 2.5 million visitors.

The last show, called Bosch, Brueghel, Arcimboldo: Fantastique et Merveilleux, (March 2017 to January 2018) drew 554,000 people. If you missed it, you'll have another chance as it will be reprised this summer as part of a program called Les Intégrales des Carrières; more on that appears below. 

The quarry is now closed, awaiting the March 2 opening of the next show, called Picasso et les Maitres Espagnols (Picasso and the Spanish Masters). It runs through January 6, 2019.

The Picasso show lasts 32 minutes and plays on a continuous loop, tracing a century of modern Spanish painting. Part #1 highlights portraits and scenes of daily life painted by Goya, Rusiñol, Zuloaga, and Sorolla; part #2 focuses on Picasso. This year's soundtrack--providing the perfect emotion and rhythm as the images dance from sequence to sequence--blends Beethoven, Bizet and Debussy with Glenn Miller, Keith Jarrett, Otis Redding and many others.

Picasso and the Spanish Masters is part a major international initiative called Picasso-Méditerranée, initiated by the Musée National Picasso-Paris. Between spring 2017 and spring 2019, more than 60 cultural institutions are staging programs or exhibits based upon the artist's Mediterranean work.

Following the Picasso show at the Carrières there's a short (nine-minute) program called Flower Power, celebrating the  pop culture of the 1960s and "the idealistic generation that changed the world." Music comes from Jimmy Hendrix, the Stones, the Beatles, the Beach Boys and more. The Flower Power show was created by Danny Rose, an art and design studio known for immersive audiovisual works.

Once again, this summer the Carrières will reprise the last three shows on ten special evenings in July, August and September. Called "Les Intégrales des Carrières," these special 8:30 pm projections will allow visitors the chance to experience ), Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael: Giants of the Renaissance (2015), Chagall: Midsummer Night's Dreams (2016) and Bosch, Brueghel, Arcimboldo: Fantastique et Merveilleux (2017). On each of these ten nights, you'll get to see all three shows. The dates are July 23, 24 and 25; August 6, 7, 8; and September 14, 15, 21 and 22.  Tickets for these special reprise showings are €24 and can be purchased here.

The Carrières de Lumières are located in the Val d’Enfer, a stone's throw from the hilltop village of Les Baux. The quarries here first produced white limestone, used in the construction of the village and its château. In 1821, aluminum ore bauxite was discovered here by geologist Pierre Berthier, who named it after the village. In 1935, economic competition from modern materials led to the quarries' closure. Dramatic and otherworldly looking, the area has inspired artists of all sorts; it provided the setting for Dante’s Divine Comedy and Gounod created his opera Mireille here. Later, Cocteau came to film The Testament of Orpheus in these very quarries. The Carrières du Val d’Enfer have been awarded Natural Monument status in France. 

Formerly known as the Cathedrale des Images, this particular quarry was closed in 2011 and re-opened (after a €2 million re-do) as the Carrières de Lumières the following year, under the management of Culturespaces, the leading private organization managing French monuments and museums.

Based on the success of the digital exhibits at the Carrières de Lumières,  Culturespaces will launch the new Atelier des Lumières in Paris on April 13. Located in a former foundry in the 11th arrondissement, the Atelier will offer three exhibits in two areas. The opening "long program" will focus on Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele while a shorter program looks at the work of Friedensreich Hundertwasser, another artist who symbolised Viennese creativity. To see a very nice teaser for the new venue, click here.

Back in Les Baux, adult tickets to the Picasso show are €12.50, kids under 7 are free. There are also family rates and combined-visit prices (Carrières + Chateau des Baux +Musee Brayer) on the website, along with opening hours, directions and much more. 

Carrières de Lumières 

Route de Maillane  

13520 Les Baux de Provence 

Tel: +33 4 90 54 47 37

carrieres-lumieres.com

Photos: (1) You can be sure everyone is tres busy at the moment in the chilly caves at Les Baux, putting finishing touches on the upcoming show at the Carrières de Lumières. (2, 3) Two of the many images you'll see in the show: Picasso's 1922 "Deux Femmes Courant Sur La Plage" and "Just Out of the Sea" by Joaquin Sorolla, 1915. (4) This looks like fun: after the 32-minute Picasso sound-and-light show, you'll see a nine-minute projection called Flower Power, celebrating the 1960s. (5) The old bauxite quarry, now the Carrières de Lumières, in daylight. The geologist who first discovered aluminum ore here named it after the village. (6) One section of the vast space is often lit beautifully for private parties and other events. (7) One of my favorite photos of the village of Les Baux, taken by Philippe Clairo. (8) I went looking to see if Picasso was ever photographed in Les Baux and found a number of great shots taken by the late Arles-based photographer Lucien Clergue, on the set of "The Testament of Orpheus," in 1959. To the left of the artist are Jacqueline Picasso and Luis Miguel Dominguin. On the right, Jean Cocteau, actress Lucia Bose and choreographer Serge Lifar. (9, 10) Based on the success of the Carrières de Lumières, Culturespaces will open the Atelier des Lumieres in Paris on April 13. The new digital art center will host three shows at once, in a former foundry in the 11th arrondissement.

For general information including upcoming activities in Les Baux, click here.

Want to spend the night in a quarry? Sure you do! All the details on one very cool Luberon rental are here. 

Luminessences Opens in Avignon Aug 12

Les Luminessences d'Avignon, a monumental 360°sound-and-light show at the Palais des Papes, is one of those annual spectacles (as the French call them) that seems to grow more and more popular each year.  This year's show, the 5th annual, opens Saturday night August 12 and runs until September 30th, in the Palace's Honour Courtyard.

The Palais des Papes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was home to nine successive popes, was considered the heart of the medieval Christian world and was the scene of several sieges. It played a very unique and vital role in European history...and Luminessences tells its story. (For more on the Avignon papacy, click here.) The show--the same production as the one shown last summer but with the addition of new scenes--cloaks the four wings of the palace in enormous images and surrounds the audience "in a poetic fusion of architecture, light and music." Mostly everyone stands for the 40-minute show but small folding chairs and wheelchairs are welcome. 

The show will be offered every evening, in French at 9:15 pm and English at 10:15 pm. 

Tickets can be bought online here...or at the Palais des Papes during opening hours... or at the Avignon Tourist Office (see link and phone below). 

Prices are 12 € for adults, 10€ (reduced rate) and free for kids under age 8. Info on group sales, private events, getting to Avignon, tickets and much more  is on the Luminessences website in English here. They're also on Facebook. For info by phone, call the Avignon Tourist Office at +33 (0)4 32 74 32 74. 

Rencontres Photo Fest Starts July 3 in Arles

The photo featured on the 2017 Rencontres d' Arles poster was shot by Karl Heinz Weinberger. The international festival (the 48th annual) lasts all summer but opening week (July 3 to 9) is considered the most important. 

The big Annie Leibovitz show, sponsored by LUMA Foundation, launched in late May...and it's a must-see.  It was pretty amusing asking one of the premier portrait photographers of our time to pose for my little iPhone pic at the opening...but she was totally willing and gracious. The show continues at La Grande Halle in the Parc des Ateliers until September 24...and you can buy a book based on the show.

Two iconic images by Joel Meyerowitz: New York City, 1963, and Cocktail Party, Wellfleet, 1977.

Photo by Clementine Schneidermann

Photo by Mathieu Pernot: The Gorgan Family, Arles, 1995. The artist met the family while studying photography in Arles. Until then, he says he "knew nothing about these communities, and was unaware that this line of Roma had been in France for over a century..."

Photos by Leslie Moquin: Hasta Abajo 02 and Hasta Abajo 05 

from the show "Territorio: Arles in Bogota." 

Installing the show "Levitt France." 

Photo by Julie Balague, one of five photographers featured. 

Photo by Shadi Ghadirian, Qajar, 1998.

Two photos by Gideon Mendel from the "Submerged Portraits" series, in the show "Drowning World." Pictured are Jeff and Tracey Waters (Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey, UK, 2014) and Victor and Hope America (Igbogene, Bayelsa State, Nigeria, 2012).

A postcard courtesy of the Claude Ribouillault collection, from "Proportion Observed: Dwarfs, Strongmen and Giants." 

Architecture of Density by Michael Wolf, from the show 

"Life in Cities." 

From Mathieu Asselin's show "Monsanto: A Photographic Investigation," taken in Van Buren, Indiana in 2013.

An untitled image from "The Kogi Indians: The Memory of Possibilities," 

with 40 photos by Éric Julien.

Photo by Iranian photographer Newsha Tavakolian, whose work is featured in the show "Iran, Année 38" and in the Les Nuits program "Iran Now,"  to be held in Arles' Théâtre Antique on July 8 at 10 pm.

The 48th annual Rencontres d'Arles, the large international photography festival, runs from July 3 to September 24 in Arles. 

Overlapping dates with the Rencontres, another photo festival called Voies Off (which most people just call "the Off") is also ongoing in Arles, with a wide range of photo shows in galleries and other sites. Most if not all are free and tickets are not required.  To learn more about Voies Off, their website in English is here. 

As in years past, the Rencontres stages themed and stand-alone exhibits (this year's count: 40 exhibits), panel discussions, lectures, book signings, open-air screenings, evening events, workshops for kids and adults, guided tours and more. Last year, more than 100,000 people attended at least one festival event. 

Most but not all of the exhibits stay up until the end of the festival. Sometimes co-produced with French and/or foreign museums and institutions, exhibits are staged in various galleries, museums and purpose-built sites around the city; the festival will use roughly 30 different venues this year. Some sites (for example, a 12th-century chapel or 19th-century industrial building) are open to the public only during the Rencontres. 

This year, the Rencontres has two new sites, both at the edge of Arles' historical center on Boulevard Émile Combes. Called Crosiere and Maison des Peintres, they were created from derelict houses, old shops, warehouses and urban land. Open to the public for the first time, they’ve been reconfigured as exhibition sites and walkways specifically for the Rencontres. 

As in years past, exhibits and activities are grouped by theme. This themes for 2017 are Latina, The Experience of Territory, World Disorders, Platforms of the Visible, I Am Writing to You from a Far-Off Country, Mise en Scene, Rereadings and Odd Collectors, New Discovery Award, Emergences, Grand Arles Express and Associated Programs.

A list of all 2017 Rencontres exhibits is here.

Top shows this year are expected to include: 

*   Joel Meyerowitz. Called "Early Works," the show at the Salle Henri-Comte will include 40 original prints from the New York-born master photographer. "The work in the gallery space was selected by Rencontres director Sam Stourdzé and is all vintage work in color," Joel told me by email. "Sam felt that with all the modern printing we see these days, it would be good to show what prints looked like just 40 years ago." The show runs July 3rd to August 27. On Thursday July 6th from 4:30 to 5 pm, Meyerowitz will give a guided tour of the show, open to anyone with a pass (ticket).

*   Annie Leibovitz. This show opened on May 26 in La Grande Halle of the Parc des Ateliers and stays up until September 24. It comprises some 8,000 images and spotlights Leibovitz' earliest work (1970 to '83), hung chronologically in separate "rooms" in a huge, wonderful space. You'll see iconic shots you'll recognize immediately and many you've never seen before. The show is sponsored by LUMA Foundation, general admission is 7€ and all the info, in English, is here.

The careers of Meyerowitz and Leibowitz will also be celebrated through special evening events at the Theatre Antique; both artists will be present and more info on that appears below. 

*   Iran, Année 38 at the Eglise Sainte-Anne, features the work of 66 Iranian photographers 
capturing the artistic, social and political upheavals of their country. It runs from July 3 to August 27. 

*  Audrey Tautou. Her show,"Superfacial" runs from July 3 to September 24, at the Abbaye de Montmajour. (Note, the Abbey is 5 km north of Arles, not in the city itself. It's a fantastic site, a Benedictine monastery built between the 10th and 18th centuries.) More info about the Audrey Tautou show is here.

As in year's past, the opening week of the festival (July 3 to 9) is always the busiest...and it's the week that many industry professionals attend. To see the opening week schedule in French and English, click here.

Highlights of opening week include:

*   Photography Nights...during which the Roman-era Théâtre Antique, city churches and old industrial sites will become unique night-time backdrops for special evenings of projected images and accompanying talks. These evenings under the stars tend to begin with an award ceremony...and then move on to a screening of photos or film designed specifically designed for the stunning, 2000-year-old venue or other sites. Three examples:

On Tuesday July 4 at the Théâtre Antique, following a photo book awards program and Part #1 of a presentation on experimental photography by Marc Lenot, the Rencontres welcomes Joel Meyerowitz. "My evening talk and show will be an overview of my 50+ years as a photographer with the emphasis on color," he says.

On Thursday July 6, after another awards presentation and Part #2 of Marc Lenot's experimental-photography presentation, Annie Leibovitz will take the stage to show and discuss her work, with the loose topic of "what makes a photo iconic."

On Saturday July 8, the program in the Théâtre Antique is "Iran Now," which echoes the show Iran, Année 38. 

Separate tickets for these "Les Nuits" events are required; to see the full program schedule in English, click here.

*   The Night of the Year ("Nuit de L'Année") takes place on July 7, from 6 pm onwards at Papeteries Étienne in Trinquetaille. Visitors are invited to wander across the Trinquetaille Bridge, from La Roquette to Trinquetaille, and on to the abandoned paper mill, which is open to the public for this event only. This year,  40 artists, photographers and institutions "that the festival has discovered or fallen in love with" were given carte blanche and their work will be projected in loops on six screens. This is also a chance to see "Byopaper!" with images by another 30 artists. More than 4 000 visitors came to the 2016 edition of this free-access, evening event.

*   During opening week, many exhibiting photographers will be on hand to present their work.  Then from July 10 through September 24, a team of mediators/photographers will offer daily 90-minute guided tours at various exhibition sites. These tours require no reservation and are free for pass holders. Info is available at all ticket offices and in the "Plan your visit" section of the Rencontres website here. 

For the ninth year, a satellite event called Cosmos-Arles Books puts the spotlight on photography books. This year, 80 international publishers will be represented, showing new books, rare books and limited editions. Cosmos-Arles Books offers experimental exhibitions and publication projects, conferences, pop-ups, book signings, talks with artists and a host of other events featuring photo books. For example on Wednesday July 5 at 5:30 pm, Joel Meyerowitz will have a one-one-one discussion with Le Point and a book signing at Cosmos (at #2 rue Condorcet), which is where all the publishers and book events will be held during the festival's opening week. This event is free and open to the public. For all the info about Cosmos-Arles Books, click here.

The Rencontres also offers photo portfolio reviews by appointment...and hosts spring, summer and weekend photo workshops; info on these programs is here.

Practical Info:

Tickets to all Rencontres events may be purchased online here...or at five ticket offices:

*Festival Office: 34 Rue du Docteur Fanton 

*Espace Van Gogh: Place Félix Rey 

*Place de la République/Église Sainte-Anne: Place de la République 

*Ground Control: next to the main Arles train station 

*Parc des Ateliers – Grande Halle: access is from the Chemin des Minimes

Exhibit tickets may be purchased individually or in multi-day passes.  Info on all passes is here. Free entry is granted to anyone under age 18, all citizens of Arles and the disabled. Groups of 10 or more get special rates as do students, job-seekers, large families and companions to the disabled. Please note that some shows/venues are not included in pass prices and must be purchased separately. 

Make sure to get a map to all exhibits when you stop by a ticket office; they should also have them at the Arles Tourist Office and elsewhere around the city. There's a map online here.

For comprehensive info about the festival, all the photographers and shows, see the press kit in English here.

The festival office/headquarters is located at #34, rue du Docteur Fanton in Arles and remains open throughout the fest.  For questions, email: info@rencontres-arles.com
. Help in English may be available by calling:  +33 (0)4 90 96 76 06.

The full Rencontres website in English is here ... while their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are being continually updated with photos, videos and more.