Vincent Barré fills the gardens of Les Hauts de Sancerre with monumental sculptures cast in aluminium from polystyrene models cut by hot wire. Column, Core and Triple Hulls have the archaic look of archaeological fragments and tell no story. Their surfaces keep the striations, corrections and splices of the work, so the hand that made them stays legible. Visitors enter by the Porte César esplanade, at the top of the wine town.
Topic: events
Les petits explorateurs du patrimoine, Vernou-sur-Brenne
Children set out from the front of the church in Vernou-sur-Brenne with a sheet of clues and no guide, hunting for the marks that will open a treasure chest. Each clue points at a doorway, a wall or a carved stone they would otherwise walk past. An adult comes along, and the trail keeps to the old village. The route is drawn by the Pays d’art et d’histoire Loire Touraine, which reads this stretch of the Loire through its own architecture.
Concert Ô Marché : l’Escadron Volant de la Reine
The Escadron Volant de la Reine brings its Concert Ô Marché series into the salle des Colonnes of the Nogent-le-Rotrou town hall. The players set out a short baroque programme on viole, violon, contrebasse and guitare, announced under the title La Tarte à Timbre. Entry costs nothing and the set runs about thirty minutes, so it can be caught between errands on the market forecourt. Each date of the season digs into another corner of baroque music.
Ensemble vocal Garance : concert de Noël à Saint-André
The Garance vocal ensemble returns to the Église Saint-André in Châteauroux for its long-standing Christmas concert. Anne JeanJacques, a lyric singer who teaches at the Conservatoire, conducts the choir and its soloists. Programme notes place the evening under the title Tous à l’opéra, setting opera repertoire beside Christmas carols. From ten euros, seats are sold at the Comptoir Local de Châteauroux.
Fantaisie Lunarienne : Maurice Sand, marionnettiste
Maurice Sand illustrated, wrote, chased insects and built a marionette theatre of his own, yet he stayed behind the name of his mother, George Sand. A comedienne and a puppeteer set three tableaux in which levels of reality collide. Letters, exchanges and excerpts from his plays feed a friendly argument about the absent man. The puppet answers the actress line for line, and Cormery hosts the encounter.
Dans l’atelier : les Ateliers Lorin en photographies
An exhibition at Chartres’s Hôtel de Ville et d’Agglomération presents around twenty photographs of the Ateliers Lorin. The stained-glass workshop is a recognised part of the city’s heritage. Images made by the Centre-Val de Loire Region’s Inventory Department explore the workshop and its stained-glass techniques. The exhibition is organised in partnership with the Region.
Journées Gaston Couté at Meung-sur-Loire
Meung-sur-Loire hands a weekend to Gaston Couté, the libertarian poet and singer-songwriter who grew up in the town. Concerts, a show, an open stage and other activities carry his poems into its halls and streets. The programme has reached its twenty-first edition, framed by an exhibition on « Louise Michel, femme révoltée ». Couté was born at Beaugency and made his name in the cabarets of Montmartre.
Fête de la Laine à Trizay-Coutretôt-Saint-Serge
Producers and artisan makers from the Perche and beyond fill the salle communale with raw wool, yarn and finished cloth. Spinning wheels turn beside looms while felting is worked by hand in front of the public. Children and adults sit down to free workshops, and a bookstore rounds out the two days. The Fête de la Laine holds a Perche fibre trade in the hands of the people who still practise it.
Amies Voix : contes slaves et créoles à Villebarou
Magda Lena Gorska and Serge Tamas bring Trali-Vari to the village library as part of Amies Voix, the storytelling festival run by the Médiathèque départementale de Loir-et-Cher. Guitar and percussion carry Russian and Creole folktales. Audience members follow a tree that grows back as soon as it is cut down, a fawn who was once a boy and the song of a turtle. Families with children from five upwards are welcome, and seats are best reserved.
Construire le patrimoine : les métiers du bâti
Construire le patrimoine at the Château-Renard media library explores the trades involved in caring for historic buildings. The exhibition covers stone carving, masonry and woodworking. Artistic metalwork and stained glass extend the range of crafts presented. The programme is part of the media library’s series on cultural heritage.