Culturespaces: the art of bringing art to life

MyFrenchLife™ – MyFrenchLife.org – Culturespaces - Les Carrières de Lumières - L’Atelier des lumières Created in 1990, the goal of Culturespaces is to promote French cultural heritage. It’s set apart by its desire to give everybody access to art, bringing together innovation and real-life, unforgettable experiences to all visitors.

Amongst these initiatives, I’ve selected two for you to discover – tried and tested by me!

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‘Les Carrières de Lumières’: an unique experience

The 19th century, in the heart of French Alpilles.

The ‘pierre du midi’ was used as building material, also called ‘pierre des Baux‘ (because of its founding city, Les Baux de Provence), and its success was growing.

In fact, this success lead to the opening of the Carrière des Grands Fonds. This later became what it is currently known as – the Carrières des Lumières.

MyFrenchLife™ – MyFrenchLife.org – Culturespaces - Les Carrières de Lumières - L’Atelier des lumières

After the 1st world war, this stone was replaced by new building materials, which led to the site’s closure in 1935.

20 years later, in 1959, the site was taken over by la lumière des projecteurs. This was thanks to the French filmmaker Jean Cocteau, who fell in love with the charm of this place, later deciding to film one of his movies there.

2012: the year of the transformation. Culturespaces takes over the Carrières.

Renamed Carrières des lumières, Culturespaces decided to relaunch the site by creating an experimental zone with the innovating concept AMIEX (Art & Music Immersive Experience). This unique concept, uses multiple video projectors to project massive images, which is combined with an immersive audio system.

In March 2012, the French public discovered the first immersive, digital exhibition : ‘Gauguin, Van Gogh, les peintres de la couleurs.’

MyFrenchLife™ – MyFrenchLife.org – Culturespaces - Les Carrières de Lumières - L’Atelier des lumières

From there followed plenty of exhibitions with various artists: Monet, Renoir, Chagall, Michel-Ange, Léonard de Vinci, Brueghel…

The last exhibitions is ‘Picasso et les maîtres espagnols’, which you can visit until the January 6th, 2019. This will be followed by ‘Van Gogh, la nuit étoilée’, from the first of March.

Due to the success of this unique place, managers decided to develop a second location. For that, they needed a place full of history to introduce to the French audience. So, they decided on the ‘Fonderie du Chemin Vert’.

Carrières de Lumières
Route de Maillane 13520 Les Baux-de-Provence
Ouverts tous les jours

L’Atelier des lumières: the art of renewal

This second location was known in 1830 under the name ‘Fonderie du Chemin Vert’. Located in the 11th district of Paris, this factory had been abandoned since it’s closure in 1929.

Eager to share this French patrimoine, Culturespaces chose to invest in this space, with the goal to provide new and immersive experiences.

L’Atelier des lumières is the first digital art centre in Paris.

Open since April this year, it provides 3 inaugural exhibitions that will run until January 6th, 2019 : Klimt, Hunderswasser & Poetic AI.

MyFrenchLife™ – MyFrenchLife.org – Culturespaces - Les Carrières de Lumières - L’Atelier des lumières

 This is a new opportunity to discover the work of various artists through the projection of their creations. Again, this is thanks to the AMIEX® technology used in Carrières des Lumières.

You will be carried away by these works, thanks to the projections on the 10m tall walls and the floors, everything in rhythm with the music

‘Wow’ effect for sure!

MyFrenchLife™ – MyFrenchLife.org – Culturespaces- Les Carrières de Lumières - L’Atelier des lumières

An there’s even a little extra at the Atelier des Lumières : a psychedelic bar.

Hidden behind a door, this intimate space invites you sip on a drink, take a seat, and watch the audiovisual installation POETIC_AI. A video that will make you dizzy!

In addition to inaugural exhibitions, you can check out some temporary exhibitions such as Colours X Colours, a contemporary creation on stage until next January.

Whether you love art of not, the Atelier des lumières and the Carrières allow you to live an unprecedented and unique experience. Believe me, you will never forget it!

A unique, emotional experience: that is what Culturespaces has to offer.

L’Atelier des Lumières
38 rue Saint Maur, 75011 Paris
Ouverts tous les jours

Which artists would you like to check out? Let us know in the comment section below!


Image credits:
2. Carrières de Lumières, via Wikiwand
All other images © Culturespaces

About the Contributor

Christelle Faux

Originaire de Toulouse, c’est suite à mes études de commerce que j’ai décidé de m’orienter vers la communication et plus particulièrement le journalisme. Passionnée de voyage, de mode et d’art, c’est à travers mes articles que je souhaite partager avec vous mes découvertes et coups de cœur. Suivez-moi sur Instagram.

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2 Comments

  1. Keith Van Sickle Dec 4, 2018 at 9:56 AM - Reply

    My wife and I live part of the year in St-Rémy-de-Provence and have been going to the Carrières des lumières (and its predecessor) for years. It is a magical experience that is hard to describe but one that is not to be missed!

    • Judy MacMahon Dec 7, 2018 at 9:36 AM - Reply

      Thank you Keith – what a wonderful experience it must be!

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