FRAC Alsace celebrates its 40th anniversary!
On the paths of a collection
FROM JUNE TO OCTOBER 2023
“I was criticized for not having planned any buildings to house them. But I knew that these works of art would be alive, and that they would be strong enough to naturally find roofs to house them.”
Jack Lang, Minister of Culture from 1981 to 1986, was behind the creation of France’s Fonds Régionaux d’Art Contemporain in 1982/83 (quoted in Claude Mollard’s “Fracas autour des Frac. Il y a quarante ans...”, Le Journal des Arts n°569, June 11, 2021).
To mark the 40th anniversary of the Fonds Régionaux d’Art Contemporain, the FRAC Alsace has taken this quote from Jack Lang – in other words, the man who launched the idea of the FRACs – as its starting point, literally stepping out of the museum space to create a dialogue between works in our collection and selected places in our environment. 19 artworks have been installed within a 15 km radius of the FRAC Alsace in Sélestat, in heritage sites or everyday places (swimming pools, bakeries, media libraries, etc.), in public spaces or in nature. It’s an invitation to take a walk or a bike ride, to (re)discover these places and the artworks linked to them: a bread crumb sculpture, an interactive sound creation, solar flutes, flags, lettering or pots with spontaneous vegetation… While each work is autonomous, it allows us to become aware of it in a different way, in dialogue with its place of presentation…
PROGRAM
JUNE TO OCTOBER
– FRAC Alsace, 1 Rte de Marckolsheim, Sélestat
Open Wednesday to Sunday: 2pm-6pm / Summer opening hours (July-August): 3pm-7pm/ Free entry
Exhibition from 01.07 to 19.11.2023
SUR LES BORDS DU MONDE – Férales, fières et farouches (feral, proud & fierce)
Opening Fri. 30.06
FRAC Alsace presents an experimental exhibition based on the notion of ferality: a term derived from the Latin fera (beast), meaning a return to the wild state of a formerly domesticated animal or plant. This exhibition questions our relationship with the living and invites us to create other languages, other worlds.
– Parvis de l’Agence Culturelle Grand Est, 1 Rte de Marckolsheim, Sélestat
Free access (public space). Installation Garden by Lois Weinberger, an urban garden designed to host spontaneous vegetation.
– Office du tourisme, 2 Place Dr Maurice Kubler, Sélestat
Open Monday to Saturday, mornings and afternoons / free access / www.selestat-haut-koenigsbourg.com
From 1.06 to 31.10
Tourist” brochure for L’Hôtel vue des Alpes by artists Studer/Van den Berg. The Swiss artist duo invite you to immerse yourself in a virtual world of snow-capped peaks, pastures and lakeside picnics. Don’t forget to book your room!
– Archéologie Alsace, 11 Rue Jean-François Champollion, Sélestat
Free access (public area) / www.archeologie.alsace/fr
From 16.06 to 31.10
Work by Gavillet & Rust, adams x burr x de cointet x coplans x cordebard x craven x dheurle x durham x filliou x fontcuberta x general idea x hains x hains x hains x kasten x majerus x majerus x rondeau x wall x welling, 2013
On the 3 masts of the Archéologie Alsace building are three colorful flags by Gavillet & Rust from the FRAC Champagne-Ardenne collection. They bring works into dialogue, meeting and joining together to show us a new reality.
– In Scherwiller / https://scherwiller.fr
Around Ramstein castle and Ortenbourg / Free access / forest
From 23.06 to 31.10
Ideas of nature, walking, visual and sound experiences are at the heart of the selected works.
A painting of an enlarged bark beetle drawing, revisited walking sticks and sound flutes allow walkers to encounter contemporary art on their hiking trails. With works by Guillaume Barborini, Erik Samakh and Loïs Weinberger. Note that walkers can use walking sticks during their stroll and leave them along the way.
– In Orschwiller / Free access (public area) / https://mairie-orschwiller.fr/ From 23.06 to 31.10
At the start of the hiking trails, near the medieval garden and Saint Maurice church
Artist Guillaume Barborini’s Portée de nos pas is a library of phrases suspended from walking sticks, an open invitation to grab one of the 1,000 sticks created for the occasion. Note that walkers can use the walking sticks during their stroll and drop them off along the way.
– In Châtenois / On the ramparts, behind the Eglise Saint Georges / free access (public space), perennial work / https://www.mairie-chatenois.fr / From 23.06
Jochen Kitzbihler’s La Halte is a floor sculpture designed specifically for this site: located on the path between the town’s two ramparts, 12 slabs form the letter “H”. The idea is to become aware of the place and of one’s own presence, a place to stop, discuss and observe, but also a (landing) sign, visible from afar in a third, vertical axis, seen from the sky. Commissioned by the town of Châtenois on a proposal and in co-production with FRAC Alsace.
–In Dambach la Ville, Place du Marché / Open Monday to Saturday, mornings and afternoons / free access. In the reception hall of the Tourist Office / https://www.dambach-la-ville.fr
From 23.06 to 31.10
Florian Tiedje’s Souche has been selected to announce and present the 40th anniversary to tourists and local residents alike. These stumps were photographed in the Illwald forest in Sélestat.
UNTIL JULY
– La Poudrière, 28 A Boulevard Thiers, Sélestat
Open according to workshop timetable / free access with registration
https://www.facebook.com/LaPoudriereSelestat
From 10.06 to 9.07
Watercolor in water workshop by Sarkis. (Aquarelle dans l’eau).
Discover a participatory work from our collection by an artist well known in Sélestat for his work Point de rencontre : le rêve on the town’s ramparts. Come and experience this technique, and let yourself be transported by the journey of colors in water!
Workshop activation times :
From 10.06 to 09.07, every weekend at 11am / 3pm / 5pm and by appointment for groups (weekdays).
Open to all (8 years and over) / Duration: approx. 1 h / Free with registration: poudriere@lesson7.fr
– In Orschwiller
At Château du Haut Koenigsbourg, open daily mornings and afternoons, times vary according to season. Works presented in the ticket office (free access) / https://www.haut-koenigsbourg.fr
From 1.06 to 16.07
En matière de livres (on the subject of books)
Three works of contemporary art are presented, each exploring the theme of books and materials, echoing the materials needed to build a fortress.
With works by Herman de Vries, Godwin Hoffmann and Kubach-Wilmsen.
TILL AUGUST
– Médiathèque, 2 Espace Gilbert Estève, Sélestat
Open Tuesday to Saturday, mornings and afternoons / Free admission
From 30.06 to 30.08
“From the Baumschule to the New Forest” by Guillaume Barth
The public is invited to discover the preparatory documents and work stages, brought together in the form of a large table presenting the Nouvelle Forêt project, nestled in the heart of the Illwald forest. (Open all year round, free access).
UNTIL SEPTEMBER
– Maison du Pain, 7 Rue du Sel, Sélestat
Open Tuesday to Sunday, mornings and afternoons / One work is displayed in the window visible from the street, a second in the museum tour (admission fee) / https://maisondupain.alsace
From 03.05 to 17.09
In this space where the smell of bread fills the air, and where the history of bread and bakeries can be discovered, two works are presented: a sculpture in breadcrumbs and a humorous poster in which bread plays the leading role.
With works by Pétra Werlé and Steiner & Lenzlinger.
– Piscine des Remparts, 2 Av. Adrien Zeller, Sélestat
Open Monday to Saturday, mornings and afternoons / Free access to FRAC Alsace works.
https://www.selestat.fr/se-divertir-a-selestat/piscine-des-remparts.html
From 15.05 to 18.09
Presentation of a selection of works from the FRAC Alsace collection on the theme of water. With works by Marie Voignier and Mischa Leinkauf.
– Tanzmatten, Quai de l’Ill, Sélestat
Work visible from outside / https://www.tanzmatten.fr
From 30.05 to 18.09
Never Give Up by Low Profile adorns the windows of the Tanzmatten. This quotation sends a message of determination and hope to the public and passers-by.
FROM SEPTEMBER TO OCTOBER
– In Scherwiller, at the former elementary school, 11 rue de l’école (weekdays, mornings and afternoons) / https://www.emmaus-scherwiller.fr
In partnership with Emmaüs, and thanks to the curatorial work carried out by the companions and supported by the FRAC, the old school rooms will be the basis for a work of reflection to be discovered from the start of the school year.
SEPTEMBER TO DECEMBER
– CFMI, 10 Bd de Nancy, Sélestat
Open Monday to Friday, all day / free access (training center) / https://cfmi.unistra.fr
The Scénocosme work, from the FRAC Alsace collection, is presented at the Centre de Formation des Musiciens Intervenants. Come and enjoy a sonic and tactile experience!
Many thanks to
Our partners: The town of Sélestat and its facilities (the mediatheque, the Remparts swimming pool, the Tanzmatten); the Agence culturelle Grand Est; the Sélestat/Haut-Koenigsbourg Tourist Office; Archéologie Alsace; La Poudrière; La Maison du Pain; Emmaüs; the CFMI; Les Veilleurs du Ramstein, the Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg and the communes of Scherwiller; Châtenois; Orschwiller and Dambach-la-Ville.
The artists: Guillaume Barborini, Guillaume Barth, Godwin Hoffmann, Jochen Kitzbihler, Mischa Leinkauf, Gerda Steiner and Jörg Lenzlinger, Low Profile, Gavillet & Rust, Erik Samakh, Sarkis, Scénocosme, Florian Tiedje, Studer/ Van den Berg, Marie Voignier, Herman de Vries, Lois Weinberger, Petra Werlé, Kubach- Wilmsen.
As well as FRAC Champagne-Ardenne and 49 Nord 6 Est Lorraine.
The FRAC Alsace is funded by the Ministère de la Culture – DRAC Grand Est and the Région Grand Est. It receives support from the Académie de Strasbourg for its educational initiatives and from the town of Sélestat for the FRAC40 : Sur les sentiers d’une collection project.