Artists' Snapshots of Provence

Snapshots of Provence is an annual program in which invited artists create digital art promoting the Bouches-du-Rhône department of Provence. The pieces are then compiled, published online and, later, displayed in a museum exhibit. This year, the work will also be shown in collaboration with the Regards de Provence Foundation, from November 28th to December 15th, at the Palais des Arts (at 1 Place Auguste et François Carli, phone 04 91 42 51 50) in Marseille. Meanwhile, you can see the video presentation here or just click the photo.

For the 2012/2013 Snapshots program, Bouches-du-Rhône Tourisme invited 12 regional artists and young talents to express ''their very personal and contemporary vision of Marseille at the dawn of 2013.'' Marseille is the European Capital of Culture for 2013. 

The result of this year's project is 90 original photos, videos and illustrations depicting the vibrant, wildly disparate city, including the nearby towns of La Ciotat, Martigues, Cassis and the gorgeous cliffs and coves known as the Calanques.

The artists were also invited to express their impressions of the cultural venues that will front the Marseille-Provence European Capital of Culture 2013 celebrations, such as the J1, MuCEM, Friche Belle de Mai and Eden Theatre in La Ciotat.

 

''Snapshots of Provence takes a sensorial approach to the destination, intended to evoke the inimitable lifestyle, light quality and character of Provence through the eyes of artists,'' the organizers tell me.

Personally, I found the video a wee bit confusing...it loads and reloads and things tend to dart away unless you click them just so. Still, the photos and videos are stunning and the design is creative and compelling. Whether you actually get the hang of the navigation or not (try the up/down/left/right arrows on your keyboard if that helps), you can easily wile away a fair amount of time just playing around on the site, enjoying the dreamy music and taking it all in. It definitely made me want to get to know Marseille better. The final video was compiled by Uzik, the Paris-based company that creates digital campaigns for top brands such as Mumm, Dior, Perrier-Jouët , France TV, Diptyque, The Louvre Museum and Nina Ricci.

Snapshots of Provence is part of a larger project called The My Provence Festival. 

For more info on tourism in the Bouches-du-Rhône, click here.

For the complete Marseille-Provence European Capital of Culture 2013 program in English, click here.

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