La Rochelle, cultural center
Charente-Maritime has many places of memory that trace the history of the department through paintings and sculptures. Under renovation since 2018, the Museum of Fine Arts of La Rochelle is installed in the Crussol d'Uzès mansion built at the end of the 18th century. If the building needs to be consolidated, it still houses many European paintings from the fifteenth century to the twentieth century but also art objects, sculptures ... We can discover the riches of the Orient through French paintings such as those of Eugène Fromentin.
Also in La Rochelle, the New World Museum takes visitors to the West Indies, a favorite destination for sailors from La Rochelle from the 16th century. It is housed in a unique setting, a former mansion that belonged to one of the most emblematic families of La Rochelle, who once owned a plantation in Santo Domingo. Paintings, drawings, engravings and old maps retrace the history of the port of La Rochelle, which traded with the New World.
A major cultural center, La Rochelle can boast a National Stage: La Coursive. The former fish market offers a varied program, selecting the best in theater, cinema, dance, music and the performing arts. In the heart of the Old Port, this stage allows spectators to attend nearly 60 shows each season, as well as exhibitions and meetings with artists.
In the heart of the city, the Intermondes center is nestled. This international space of artistic residence dedicated to contemporary creation in all its forms has a choice location, the Maison Henri II. Created in 2003, it has already welcomed 450 artists from all over the world, with the objective of helping them by offering them a place to work, material support and assistance in their research.
Outdoor art
While the ocean is a great source of inspiration for many artists, a stopover inland promises a wealth of artistic discoveries. 15 minutes from Saintes, the small commune of Plassay is home to the Galaxie des Pierres Levées, an open-air art gallery. The project is gigantic: some 360 megaliths, over two metres high, will be sculpted over the years by artists from all over the world, and will take their place in a theater of greenery. The aim of this major project is to celebrate the region's long tradition of stone quarrying and working. The artists will be sculpting blocks of stone on the Lapidiales site in Port d'Envaux, just two kilometers away. This unique site in France, designed by Alain Tenenbaum, can be visited like an open-air museum. Freely accessible, you can discover sculptures classified by theme.
Closer to Rochefort is an exceptional monument: the Abbaye de Trizay. Purchased by the commune in 1989 and subsequently restored, the former monastery became a center for contemporary art in 2004. Paintings, sculptures and engravings are exhibited all year round.
Galleries and artists' studios
Galleries and artists' studios can be found in many towns in Charente-Maritime. South of Saintes and close to Jonzac, Catherine Mathieu's work is exhibited at Château de Favières. Each season, this sculptor and ceramist uses her works to explore the château's grounds, in particular the park with its Land Art installations.
In the Cordouan gallery, numerous artists (Corinne Labarussias, Roxana Richard...) exhibit contemporary works: paintings, sculptures, Lalique crystal, enamels...
This venue, dedicated to art, is located close to a town with the "Ville d'art et d'histoire" label. A seaside town traumatized by the bombings of the Second World War, Royan quickly reinvented itself. From the 1950s onwards, the town was influenced by Brazilian architecture and saw the arrival of reinforced concrete. A stroll through the town reveals some typical landmarks: the shell-shaped central market, with its vaulted ceiling made of a concrete veil, and the famous Notre-Dame church, built in rough concrete, with its steeple rising to a height of almost 60 meters. And what about the Foncillon district? It's home to a number of architectural treasures, including the Palais des Congrès, recognizable by its cubic shape and original colorful facade.
Artists' huts on Oléron
When you arrive at Château-d'Oléron, you can't miss the imposing citadel, a military structure built in the early 17th century. But travelers should leave the ocean behind and get closer to the city center. Just a short walk and you can see the old oyster huts that were rehabilitated by the municipality in 1999. They have become workshops, and today they are home to about twenty artists and craftsmen who come to occupy these authentic and colorful shelters for a few weeks or a whole year. Blue, yellow, pink... to each hut its color, its scents, its specialty. In this little corner of poetry, you can find soft soaps, ukuleles, jewelry, steel sculptures, paintings... Each work is unique and original! The association "Couleurs Cabanes", born in 2004, aims to promote art in the image of these unique and original works but also the respect of the maritime environment, conducive to creation.
The sea is for many artists (draftsman, photographer) a source of inspiration. It is not uncommon to see painters settle in front of the ocean during a tide. A company symbolizes the link with the sea: Retour de Plage. This French brand specialized in the creation of handcrafted jewelry was born on Oléron. The founder, Myriam Bataille, designs and manufactures jewelry inspired by her marine discoveries like driftwood.
