{"id":27910,"date":"2020-08-21T00:00:43","date_gmt":"2020-08-20T23:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/?p=27910"},"modified":"2023-07-11T13:56:01","modified_gmt":"2023-07-11T12:56:01","slug":"french-renaissance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/french-renaissance\/","title":{"rendered":"French Renaissance"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>One newspaper\u2019s description of Nantes as \u2018the loopiest city in France\u2019 belies a serious, long-term strategy: to reinvent\u00a0Nantes\u00a0through art and culture. In Nantes this has been a great success. From being laid low in the 1980s with the collapse of its ship-building and freight industries (it is situated on the Loire river estuary 50 kilometres from the Atlantic), it has emerged as a fun and creative city revitalised by cultural tourism.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_28082\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-28082\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28082 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Philippe-Ramette-Eloge-du-pas-de-cote-Place-du-Bouffay-Nantes-Le-Voyage-a-Nantes-2018-\u00a9-Philippe-Piron-_-LVAN-ADAGP-Paris-2019-2.jpg\" alt=\"Philippe Ramette, \u00c9loge du pas de c\u00f4t\u00e9, (Ode to side-stepping) from Le Voyage \u00e0 Nantes 2018 and now on permanent display in the Place du Bouffay \u00a9 Philippe Piron _ LVAN - ADAGP, Paris 2019\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-28082\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28082 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Philippe-Ramette-Eloge-du-pas-de-cote-Place-du-Bouffay-Nantes-Le-Voyage-a-Nantes-2018-\u00a9-Philippe-Piron-_-LVAN-ADAGP-Paris-2019-2.jpg\" alt=\"Philippe Ramette, \u00c9loge du pas de c\u00f4t\u00e9, (Ode to side-stepping) from Le Voyage \u00e0 Nantes 2018 and now on permanent display in the Place du Bouffay \u00a9 Philippe Piron _ LVAN - ADAGP, Paris 2019\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Philippe-Ramette-Eloge-du-pas-de-cote-Place-du-Bouffay-Nantes-Le-Voyage-a-Nantes-2018-\u00a9-Philippe-Piron-_-LVAN-ADAGP-Paris-2019-2.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Philippe-Ramette-Eloge-du-pas-de-cote-Place-du-Bouffay-Nantes-Le-Voyage-a-Nantes-2018-\u00a9-Philippe-Piron-_-LVAN-ADAGP-Paris-2019-2-480x320.jpg 480w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Philippe-Ramette-Eloge-du-pas-de-cote-Place-du-Bouffay-Nantes-Le-Voyage-a-Nantes-2018-\u00a9-Philippe-Piron-_-LVAN-ADAGP-Paris-2019-2-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Philippe-Ramette-Eloge-du-pas-de-cote-Place-du-Bouffay-Nantes-Le-Voyage-a-Nantes-2018-\u00a9-Philippe-Piron-_-LVAN-ADAGP-Paris-2019-2-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Philippe-Ramette-Eloge-du-pas-de-cote-Place-du-Bouffay-Nantes-Le-Voyage-a-Nantes-2018-\u00a9-Philippe-Piron-_-LVAN-ADAGP-Paris-2019-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Philippe-Ramette-Eloge-du-pas-de-cote-Place-du-Bouffay-Nantes-Le-Voyage-a-Nantes-2018-\u00a9-Philippe-Piron-_-LVAN-ADAGP-Paris-2019-2-600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/noscript> <em>Philippe Ramette, \u00c9loge du pas de c\u00f4t\u00e9, (Ode to side-stepping) from Le Voyage \u00e0 Nantes 2018 and now on permanent display in the Place du Bouffay \u00a9 Philippe Piron _ LVAN &#8211; ADAGP, Paris 2019<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The main figure driving this renaissance is the arts entrepreneur Jean Blaise, founder of <b>Le Voyage <\/b><b>\u00e0<\/b><b> <\/b><b>Nantes<\/b>, the annual, two-month arts festival which transforms the city. (He was also behind La Nuit Blanche, the all-night festival in Paris.) Blaise\u2019s credo \u2013 to combine the city\u2019s cultural and tourist attractions into a single brand identity \u2013 saw visitor numbers increase by over 50 per cent in under ten years.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Blaise said: \u201cThe important thing is to understand that culture is fundamental for the life of Nantes. In fact, it cannot exist without it. The idea of the festival is to colonise every part of town with artistic creation.\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.levoyageanantes.fr\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>www.levoyageanantes.fr<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Much of Nantes city centre, a pleasant mix of proud, 19th century buildings with a smattering of medieval timber-frame structures, has been pedestrianised and every summer a city-wide art trail is marked by a green line painted along streets and through alleys linking public artworks, installations, urban furniture and some of the city\u2019s finest architectural features. Some business owners, feeling left out, complained that the green line did not run past their premises and one disgruntled cafe owner painted an offshoot leading to his front door.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_28081\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-28081\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-28081 size-full lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/SW_Mus\u00aee-des-Beaux-Arts-de-Nantes_-\u00aeHuftonCrow_006.jpg\" alt=\"A recently refurbished salon in the Musee d\u2019Arts de Nantes \" width=\"1200\" height=\"724\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-28081\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-28081 size-full lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/SW_Mus\u00aee-des-Beaux-Arts-de-Nantes_-\u00aeHuftonCrow_006.jpg\" alt=\"A recently refurbished salon in the Musee d\u2019Arts de Nantes \" width=\"1200\" height=\"724\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/SW_Mus\u00aee-des-Beaux-Arts-de-Nantes_-\u00aeHuftonCrow_006.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/SW_Mus\u00aee-des-Beaux-Arts-de-Nantes_-\u00aeHuftonCrow_006-480x290.jpg 480w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/SW_Mus\u00aee-des-Beaux-Arts-de-Nantes_-\u00aeHuftonCrow_006-1024x618.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/SW_Mus\u00aee-des-Beaux-Arts-de-Nantes_-\u00aeHuftonCrow_006-150x91.jpg 150w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/SW_Mus\u00aee-des-Beaux-Arts-de-Nantes_-\u00aeHuftonCrow_006-768x463.jpg 768w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/SW_Mus\u00aee-des-Beaux-Arts-de-Nantes_-\u00aeHuftonCrow_006-600x362.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/noscript> <em>A recently refurbished salon in the Musee d\u2019Arts de Nantes <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>With a modest independent gallery scene, Nantes has one dominant player. The <b>Musee d\u2019Arts de Nantes<\/b> is one of the biggest regional art museums in France and the only one outside Paris with a collection spanning the 13th to the 21st centuries, thus presenting an unbroken timeline of the history of art. In recent years it has been completely refurbished and gained a new extension.<\/p>\n<p>The museum is unique in presenting art from different periods in the same spaces, for example by hanging an Old Masters work in a contemporary room. This creates a duality between old and new and departs from the post-WWII split, when new museums were created to specialise in modern art. The overall collection includes works by some of the biggest names in art such as Ernst, Ingres, Chagall, Picasso, Leger, Kandinsky, Courbet, Dufy and Monet. <b><a href=\"http:\/\/www.museedartsdenantes.fr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">www.museedartsdenantes.fr<\/a><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span><\/b><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_28073\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-28073\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28073 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/lieu-unique.jpg\" alt=\"Lieu Unique (Unique Place)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-28073\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28073 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/lieu-unique.jpg\" alt=\"Lieu Unique (Unique Place)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/lieu-unique.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/lieu-unique-480x360.jpg 480w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/lieu-unique-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/lieu-unique-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/lieu-unique-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/lieu-unique-600x450.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/noscript> <em>Lieu Unique (Unique Place)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Taking its name from the first initials of the founder and his wife of the former biscuit factory in which it is located, LU, or the <b>Lieu Unique<\/b> (Unique Place) is a sprawling cultural centre topped by the beautiful, tiled LU Tower, which feaures Pheme, the Greek goddess of fame, and signs of the zodiac. (The biscuit factory still exists elsewhere and continues to make <em>Petit Beurre<\/em>, or Little Butter, a kind of shortbread popular in France.) The former factory halls are ideal for displaying large scale contemporary works. The programme also includes theatre, dance, circus, music and literary gatherings. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lelieuunique.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>www.lelieuunique.com <\/b><\/a><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_28072\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-28072\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28072 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Miroir-deau-Carre-Feydeau-Nantes.jpg\" alt=\"The Chateau des Ducs de Bretagne reflected in the \u2018Miroir d\u2019eau\u2019 (Water mirror)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"799\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-28072\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28072 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Miroir-deau-Carre-Feydeau-Nantes.jpg\" alt=\"The Chateau des Ducs de Bretagne reflected in the \u2018Miroir d\u2019eau\u2019 (Water mirror)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"799\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Miroir-deau-Carre-Feydeau-Nantes.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Miroir-deau-Carre-Feydeau-Nantes-480x320.jpg 480w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Miroir-deau-Carre-Feydeau-Nantes-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Miroir-deau-Carre-Feydeau-Nantes-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Miroir-deau-Carre-Feydeau-Nantes-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Miroir-deau-Carre-Feydeau-Nantes-600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/noscript> <em>The Chateau des Ducs de Bretagne reflected in the \u2018Miroir d\u2019eau\u2019 (Water mirror)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The last of the great Loire Valley castles before the river meets the Atlantic Ocean, the <b>Chateau des Ducs de Bretagne<\/b> hosts a changing exhibition programme. Past presentations have included the origins of Surrealism (the movement\u2019s founder, Andrew Breton, was stationed in Nantes during WWI), pre-Hispanic Columbian gold treasures and Japanese engravings. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.chateaunantes.fr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>www.chateaunantes.fr <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_28080\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-28080\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28080 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/VAN-EVT-06.14-MARG-454.jpg\" alt=\"The Manny building on the Ile de Nantes \" width=\"1200\" height=\"1200\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-28080\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28080 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/VAN-EVT-06.14-MARG-454.jpg\" alt=\"The Manny building on the Ile de Nantes \" width=\"1200\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/VAN-EVT-06.14-MARG-454.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/VAN-EVT-06.14-MARG-454-480x480.jpg 480w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/VAN-EVT-06.14-MARG-454-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/VAN-EVT-06.14-MARG-454-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/VAN-EVT-06.14-MARG-454-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/VAN-EVT-06.14-MARG-454-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/VAN-EVT-06.14-MARG-454-600x600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/VAN-EVT-06.14-MARG-454-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/noscript> <em>The Manny building on the Ile de Nantes<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In the middle of the Loire river, the <b>Ile de Nantes <\/b>is the city\u2019s creative quarter. Once the site of abandoned shipyards and run-down industrial buildings, it has seen architects vying to outdo each other with new, eye-popping new buildings, from the severely slick-black Palais de Justice to the Manny building clad with aluminium strips to resemble a bird\u2019s nest. It even emanates pre-recorded chirping sounds.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_28078\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-28078\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28078 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Les-Machines-de-lile-Nantes-\u00a9-Romain-Peneau-_-LVAN.jpg\" alt=\"Les Machines de l\u2019Ile, Photo \u00a9 Romain Peneau \" width=\"1200\" height=\"954\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-28078\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28078 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Les-Machines-de-lile-Nantes-\u00a9-Romain-Peneau-_-LVAN.jpg\" alt=\"Les Machines de l\u2019Ile, Photo \u00a9 Romain Peneau \" width=\"1200\" height=\"954\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Les-Machines-de-lile-Nantes-\u00a9-Romain-Peneau-_-LVAN.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Les-Machines-de-lile-Nantes-\u00a9-Romain-Peneau-_-LVAN-480x382.jpg 480w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Les-Machines-de-lile-Nantes-\u00a9-Romain-Peneau-_-LVAN-1024x814.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Les-Machines-de-lile-Nantes-\u00a9-Romain-Peneau-_-LVAN-150x119.jpg 150w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Les-Machines-de-lile-Nantes-\u00a9-Romain-Peneau-_-LVAN-768x611.jpg 768w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Les-Machines-de-lile-Nantes-\u00a9-Romain-Peneau-_-LVAN-600x477.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/noscript> <em>Les Machines de l\u2019Ile, Photo \u00a9 Romain Peneau<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>No visit to Nantes is complete without a visit to <b>Les Machines de l\u2019Ile<\/b>, a blend of Leonardo da Vinci mechanical universe, Victorian circus and Jules Vernes fantasy. (The author of <i>20,000 Leagues Under the Sea <\/i>and <i>Journey to the Centre of the Earth <\/i>was born in Nantes).<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>A former boiler-making factory is now the workshop of a team of madcap engineers who have built a mechanical menagerie, from an eight-metre high heron flying passengers overhead to a giant ant scurrying across the floor or a huge, steel and wood elephant strolling around with visitors on its back. Add to that the three-tier Carousel of Marine Worlds representing different levels of the ocean with passengers riding in creatures which inhabit each one, and you\u2019ll feel like an extra in the latest Disney caper. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lesmachines-nantes.fr\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>www.lesmachines-nantes.fr<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_28076\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-28076\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28076 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/hab.jpg\" alt=\"Work by Claire Tabouret at HAB Galerie\" width=\"1200\" height=\"799\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-28076\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28076 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/hab.jpg\" alt=\"Work by Claire Tabouret at HAB Galerie\" width=\"1200\" height=\"799\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/hab.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/hab-480x320.jpg 480w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/hab-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/hab-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/hab-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/hab-600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/noscript> <em>Work by Claire Tabouret at HAB Galerie<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>At the westernmost tip of the island is the <b>HAB Galerie<\/b>, situated in the former Hangar \u00e0 Bananes, a concrete-floored 1950s warehouse built to store imported fruit and vegetables and now ideal for displaying contemporary art and sculpture.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_28077\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-28077\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28077 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Huang-Yong-Ping-Serpent-docean-Saint-Brevin-les-Pins-France-oeuvre-du-parcours-Estuaire-Nantes__Saint-Nazaire-\u00a9-Franck-Tomps-_-LVAN.jpg\" alt=\"Huang Yong Ping, Serpent d\u2019Ocean, Photo \u00a9 Franck Tomps\" width=\"1200\" height=\"902\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-28077\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28077 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Huang-Yong-Ping-Serpent-docean-Saint-Brevin-les-Pins-France-oeuvre-du-parcours-Estuaire-Nantes__Saint-Nazaire-\u00a9-Franck-Tomps-_-LVAN.jpg\" alt=\"Huang Yong Ping, Serpent d\u2019Ocean, Photo \u00a9 Franck Tomps\" width=\"1200\" height=\"902\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Huang-Yong-Ping-Serpent-docean-Saint-Brevin-les-Pins-France-oeuvre-du-parcours-Estuaire-Nantes__Saint-Nazaire-\u00a9-Franck-Tomps-_-LVAN.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Huang-Yong-Ping-Serpent-docean-Saint-Brevin-les-Pins-France-oeuvre-du-parcours-Estuaire-Nantes__Saint-Nazaire-\u00a9-Franck-Tomps-_-LVAN-480x361.jpg 480w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Huang-Yong-Ping-Serpent-docean-Saint-Brevin-les-Pins-France-oeuvre-du-parcours-Estuaire-Nantes__Saint-Nazaire-\u00a9-Franck-Tomps-_-LVAN-1024x770.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Huang-Yong-Ping-Serpent-docean-Saint-Brevin-les-Pins-France-oeuvre-du-parcours-Estuaire-Nantes__Saint-Nazaire-\u00a9-Franck-Tomps-_-LVAN-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Huang-Yong-Ping-Serpent-docean-Saint-Brevin-les-Pins-France-oeuvre-du-parcours-Estuaire-Nantes__Saint-Nazaire-\u00a9-Franck-Tomps-_-LVAN-768x577.jpg 768w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Huang-Yong-Ping-Serpent-docean-Saint-Brevin-les-Pins-France-oeuvre-du-parcours-Estuaire-Nantes__Saint-Nazaire-\u00a9-Franck-Tomps-_-LVAN-600x451.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/noscript> <em>Huang Yong Ping, Serpent d\u2019Ocean, Photo \u00a9 Franck Tomps<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A cruise along the Loire estuary passes some of the extraordinary installations created for <b>Estuaire<\/b>, an open-air museum of some 30 works inspired by the river\u2019s industrial and shipping heritage. They include a house perched 15 metres up on a chimney stack (Tatzu Nishi\u2019s <i>La Villa Cheminee<\/i>), a boat melting Dali-like over a quay (Erwin Wurm\u2019s <i>Inconceivable<\/i>), a house sinking into the water (Jean-Luc Courcoult\u2019s <i>La Maison dans la Loire<\/i>) and the 120-metre long metal skeleton of a giant sea snake (Huang Yong Ping\u2019s <i>Serpent d\u2019Ocean<\/i>). <a href=\"http:\/\/www.estuaire.info\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>www.estuaire.info<\/b><\/a><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_28075\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-28075\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28075 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/20170702_124222.jpg\" alt=\"Ice cream, anyone?\" width=\"600\" height=\"881\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-28075\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28075 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/20170702_124222.jpg\" alt=\"Ice cream, anyone?\" width=\"600\" height=\"881\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/20170702_124222.jpg 600w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/20170702_124222-480x705.jpg 480w, https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/20170702_124222-102x150.jpg 102w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/noscript> <em>Ice cream, anyone?<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Walking around the city centre, you may find yourself constantly looking up for fear of missing the quirky \u2018enseignes\u2019 (signs) designed by local artists to depict the type of business located under them, such as cartoonish pigs\u2019 heads above a butcher\u2019s shop or a shaggy Highland cow above a barber\u2019s shop.<\/p>\n<p><em>This article\u00a0<\/em><i>appears in 21st August edition of Artmag digital magazine.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How Nantes was reborn through culture.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":28074,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"topic":[255],"class_list":["post-27910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art-travel","topic-travel"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27910"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27910\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27910"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artmag.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=27910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}