The 11th edition of Voyage à Nantes will take place from July 2 to September 11, 2022
She bets on new places and her desire to “transform the city into small theaters”, for a summer.
You don't change a winning formula... At least not its outline.
After two years of disruption due to the health crisis, the Voyage à Nantes will return to full form this summer.
But the 11th edition of this cultural and free event, which will take place from July 2 to September 11, should manage to surprise those who thought they knew it well.
The general manager of VAN and his team, who presented the program this Thursday morning, decided to go where they were not necessarily expected.
"The tremors of the world affect the work of artists", justified Jean Blaise.
Thus, the monumental works which followed one another from year to year in the center of Place Graslin and Place Royale (waterfall on the opera, roller skating rink, wreckage stranded on the fountain, etc.) will, for example, not be there.
This summer, there are two places in the city center that have never been invested in so far which should particularly attract the crowd.
But here again, if Voyage à Nantes has long liked to recall its philosophy of not "decorating" but rather of "reinterpreting" the city, it has nevertheless chosen to "transform Nantes into small theatres", for this time.
Strange silhouettes, movie sets...
On Place Félix-Fournier and the forecourt of Saint-Nicolas Church, get ready to enter a strange, even disturbing atmosphere, imagined by “the extraordinary artist” Hélène Delprat.
Those who venture there should come across some forty gigantic black silhouettes (one of them is the visual chosen for the 2022 edition), mixed with other extravagant figures, objects and flags, reminders of which will be placed at Royale and Graslin.
A large hanging, like a door, will invite the public to blend into this funny festive parade.
Not far from there, the Place du Commerce will also be transformed by a young designer, Alexandre Benjamin Navet, for the first time.
Although the renovation work will unfortunately still not be completed, huge film sets in bright colors, supported on frames, will cover the facades of buildings and Fnac, 15 or 20 meters high.
Parasols and railings with cheerful patterns will be dotted here and there, to predict the very close return of the public to this central square.
To discover the other main novelties, it will be necessary to move away a little from the traditional course of the hyper-center.
The green line will notably lead visitors to the Miséricorde cemetery, where astonishing deer sculptures, frozen in glass plates, will await them.
To the south, on the island of Nantes, a wooden footbridge currently under construction will connect the Cantine du Voyage and the Solilab, a facility that should remain for at least the next four years.
Rather confidential, rue Bias (in front of the pharmacy faculty) will be colored green and geometric, with an enhancement of the existing circular car park and the arrival of strange street furniture.
Exhibitions and returns
"Robert Doisneau and the Loire" exhibition at the Cité des Congrès, a series of large-format photos at the castle in the colors of India, around the incarnation of the gods... The Voyage to Nantes will also offer its share of exhibitions, not to mention returns to the successes of past editions.
The beaver, discovered during the 2021 edition, will be repositioned on the remains of the Saint-Pierre gate, near the cathedral.
The famous automatons of rue Joffre will move to the Talensac market to live new stories.
Le Voyage à Nantes, too, is preparing to write a new one: Jean Blaise confirmed this Thursday “working hard” on the Christmas edition, which will be available from the end of the year.
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