person Éva Hameau

Normandie Impressionniste 2026, a contemporary escapade in the footsteps of Monet

Normandie Impressionniste 2026, une escapade contemporaine dans les pas de monet

The 6th edition of the Normandie Impressionniste festival, running until September 2026, celebrates the centenary of Claude Monet's death with 75 contemporary art projects across Normandy. For the first time since its creation in 2010, the festival focuses entirely on contemporary art as a tribute to the Impressionist master. Highlights include Ai Weiwei's monumental "Waterlilies" (2022) made from 650,000 Lego pieces each, displayed at the MuMA (Musée d'art moderne André-Malraux) in Le Havre, and the Dutch studio Drift's installation "Meadow" in Rouen's Église Sainte-Croix-des-Pelletiers. The festival spans three key locations tied to Monet's life—Le Havre, Rouen, and Giverny—with works in museums, parks, gardens, churches, and public squares across the Eure, Seine-Maritime, and Calvados departments.

L’Académie des Arts Appliqués de Dijon ferme ses portes

L’Académie des Arts Appliqués de Dijon, a private art school in Burgundy, announced its permanent closure on April 3 via social media, just one month after being placed in receivership by the Dijon commercial court. The school, which had offered four bachelor's degrees in design and a preparatory class for competitive art school entrance exams since 2012, saw its enrollment drop from 90 to 30 students over four years. In March, several teachers revealed they had not been paid since January 2026, and the institution faced unstable governance after its founder-director Olivier Laloux went on sick leave, with interim leadership taken over by his father Gabriel Laloux, a former agricultural high school teacher.

Un Campus créatif se construit à Rennes

A new creative campus, named "Campus créatif 5," is set to open in Rennes by the fall of 2027. Located in the EuroRennes development zone, the campus will host students from the École supérieure des métiers artistiques (ESMA). The project is led by the architecture firm Agence Philippe Dubus, which previously built the Campus créatif in the Baud-Chardonnet district in 2019 for the same developer, Icônes. The estimated budget is €33 million, entirely financed by Icônes, a private art education group based in Montpellier.

Architects at the head of ENSA Strasbourg and Montpellier

Des architectes à la tête des ENSA Strasbourg et Montpellier

As of March 1, 2026, two architects-urbanists have been appointed to lead France's national architecture schools (ENSA) in Strasbourg and Montpellier. Agnès Blondin-Carrez, previously head of the architecture and heritage units in the Ardennes and Bas-Rhin, now directs ENSA Strasbourg. Martin Chénot, who formerly led ENSA Saint-Étienne and ENSAP Bordeaux and oversaw the French Institutes in Casablanca and Madrid, takes the helm at ENSA Montpellier.

Une nouvelle chaire ouvre à l’École du Louvre

The École du Louvre is launching a new UNESCO chair titled "Provenance Research, Sensitive Goods and International Issues," in cooperation with UNESCO and in partnership with several European, African, and American museums. The chair builds on a master's program created in 2023 and extends the school's research axis on spoliation. Its official launch will be marked by a symposium on June 22-23, 2026, exploring the historical, methodological, legal, political, and philosophical dimensions of provenance research.

The Stars of Trevor Yeung in Bordeaux

Les astres de Trevor Yeung à Bordeaux

Hong Kong artist Trevor Yeung has transformed the grand nave of the CAPC (Centre d'Arts Plastiques Contemporains) in Bordeaux into a fairy-tale stellar landscape with his first institutional solo exhibition in Europe, titled "Jardin des neuf soleils" (Garden of Nine Suns). The immersive installation reimagines the Chinese cosmogonic myth of the ten suns, using nine fallen sun sculptures—each with unique forms and light intensities—alongside green light sources derived from museum pest-control devices, green filters on windows, and interactive elements such as a rainbow ribbon bridge and a moon that responds to visitors' phone flashlights.

La Biennale de Venise s’ouvre dans un climat houleux

The 61st Venice Biennale opened amid intense controversy after its president, Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, announced the return of the Russian pavilion, which had been absent since the start of the Ukraine war. The European Commission suspended its €2 million subsidy for the 2028 edition, and the entire Biennale jury resigned on April 30. Buttafuoco later declared the Russian pavilion would remain closed, but protests erupted during the pre-opening days (May 6–8), drawing 28,000 professionals. Pussy Riot members, Femen activists, and the Free Nations League staged demonstrations, while the Israeli pavilion remained open despite a letter signed by nearly 200 artists calling for its exclusion.

Accusé de viol, le directeur du Frac Bretagne est révoqué

The director of the Frac Bretagne (Regional Contemporary Art Fund of Brittany), Étienne Bernard, has been dismissed following an internal investigation into allegations of sexual violence. The case began in October 2025 when an anonymous testimony on the Instagram account #MeTooArtContemporain accused a former art professor of sexual assault; the post noted the accused had since become a Frac director. After graffiti appeared on the Frac Bretagne building, the institution hired the external consultancy Égaé to conduct an internal inquiry. Two reports submitted in February and April 2026 documented multiple serious allegations against Bernard, including harassment and assault. The board voted unanimously to revoke his position on May 4, 2026, and the public prosecutor's office in Rennes has opened a criminal investigation for moral harassment, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and aggravated rape. Bernard denies the allegations and has filed an appeal with the administrative court.

A New "Creative" Campus in Rennes

Un nouveau campus « créatif » à Rennes

The private higher education group Icônes is investing €33 million to construct a new 16,000-square-meter "creative campus" in the EuroRennes district of Rennes, France. Scheduled to open in 2027, the complex will feature three buildings designed by architect Philippe Dubus, including a new home for the ESMA 3D animation school, a 300-studio student residence, and coworking spaces dedicated to creative startups.

Private Art Schools Enter a Period of Turbulence

Les écoles d’art privées traversent une zone de turbulence

A wave of bankruptcies and judicial reorganizations is hitting the private art education sector in France. Following the closure of the École d’art de Montreuil, the Académie des arts appliqués (AAA) in Dijon and the École supérieure de design in Troyes have both entered receivership. These institutions are struggling with severe financial deficits, unpaid staff, and a sharp decline in student enrollment, with some schools seeing their student bodies shrink by two-thirds in just four years.

The 2026 Edition of the Salon du Dessin

L'édition 2026 du Salon du Dessin

The 2026 edition of the Salon du Dessin, a specialized drawing fair, is underway at the Palais Brongniart in Paris. The fair features a new 'young collectors' pathway designed to appeal to those not spending hundreds of thousands, alongside the traditional stand for anonymous works. Major pieces, like two allegorical drawings by Grégoire Huret, sold immediately at the opening, and the event maintains its characteristic scholarly yet warm atmosphere with notable new exhibitors.