Open-air activities, live entertainment, music... Back for its 20th year, the European Night of Museums, organized by the French Ministry of Culture on Saturday, May 18, offers the chance to discover the collections of numerous cultural venues in a festive atmosphere, outside normal opening hours.
In Deauville, the Franciscaines are opening their exhibition devoted to the painter Zao Wou-ki (1920-2013) to the public free of charge during the day, exploring the various media used by the Chinese-born artist, from ceramics to tapestry and painting. They're also organizing an afternoon audience with choreographer Carolyn Carlson in the chapel (free on reservation), and will present one of her shows, Temps fort, in the cloister at 7pm and 9pm – a set of four short solos, visual poems inspired by nature or the human condition, performed by members of her company (free admission).
Les Franciscaines de Deauville, 145 B, avenue de la République, Deauville.
Equipped with a flashlight and plunged into the dark, visitors will be able to try their hand at light painting, which involves creating shapes using a beam of light, in the museum's underground galleries, from 8pm to 11.30pm. The exhibition "Mondes souterrains. 20.000 places under the earth," currently on show there, will be open until 1am, and can be visited (from age 8) in the company of a tour guide. A photo workshop, concerts by music students from the University of Lille, and book readings to discover the mysterious world of caves and the creatures that inhabit them complete the program.
Louvre-Lens, 99, rue Paul-Bert, Lens.
Music lover, collector, patron of the arts and traveler, Belgian Anna Boch (1848-1936) was also a female figure of Post-Impressionism, who remains little-known in France. She depicted various locations in Brittany, including Bénodet and Perros-Guirec, where she stayed on several occasions. Museum Night is an opportunity to discover her work in the company of a guide at the Musée de Pont-Aven, which is devoting an exhibition of 70 paintings and drawings to her (it closes on May 26). The visit can be rounded off with a concert by the group Kaolila, which sings texts written in Breton by writer Gégé Gwen to original music composed and arranged by the group.
Musée de Pont-Aven, place Julia, Pont-Aven.
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