Introduction

INTRODUCTION

UN ÉTÉ AU HAVRE : EACH SUMMER, A BOLD ENCOUNTER WITH CONTEMPORARY ART

20 artworks and installations in public spaces / 4 discovery tours / 5 major exhibitions

The adventure began in 2017 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the foundation of the city and the port. Jean Blaise – the artistic director of Un Été Au Havre – grabbed this unique opportunity with both hands and imagined a spectacular anniversary celebration over several months, that was enjoyed by more than two million visitors.

Widely acclaimed by both locals and visitors and supported by public authorities and economic stakeholders, Un Été Au Havre has become a recurring event. Thus, in Le Havre, the summer season is the right time for a bold encounter with art, heritage, and culture, rejuvenated each year by the addition of new contemporary artworks that are displayed all over the city during Un Été Au Havre.

A permanent collection built up over the years and embellished each summer has gradually transformed the city into an open-air contemporary art exhibition accessible to all.

The intervention of world-famous artists in the public space has a strong impact on the way people look at the city. Le Havre lures and seduces more and more visitors, coming to the city for Un Été Au Havre, but also to enjoy the seaside, festive, cultural, and sporting character of this often overlooked destination.

Lang / Baumann, Karel Martens, Vincent Ganivet, Fabien Mérelle, Stéphane Thidet, Rhys Chatham, Compagnie Carabosse, Royal de Luxe, Julien Berthier, Chiharu Shiota, Jace, Charlotte Roux, Henrique Oliveira, Erwin Wurm, Susan Philipsz...

Each artist brings his/her own vision to reveal the singularity and unique character of the city.

This summer, 20 artworks and monumental installations will be visible in public spaces.

Chiki, Pierre Delavie, Arthur Gosse, Guillaumit, HéHé, Laura Kopf, Patrick Murphy, Antoine Schmitt, and Fabio Viale will add temporary artworks to the permanent collection.

The programme will also include 5 major exhibitions :

Fabio Viale, exhibition of 9 sculptures in the Villa Maritime gardens, exceptionally open to the public within the frame of the partnership with Pasino du Havre - Groupe Partouche > from 26th June to 19th September 2021,
Philippe De Gobert – Du merveilleux en architecture au conte photographique, at MuMa – André Malraux Museum of Modern Art > from 29th May to 7th November 2021,
Théo Mercier – Nécrocéan, at Le Portique, Regional Contemporary Art Centre of Le Havre > from 26th June to 26th September 2021,
EXHIBIT ! : Quitter la Gravité, at Le Tetris, the main contemporary music venue in Le Havre, to explore digital creation within the frame of a group exhibition designed with Espace Multimédia Gantner (Belfort) > from 26th June to 5th September 2021,
Australie – Le Havre, L’intimité d’un lien, at the Museum of Natural History > from 5th June to 7th November 2021.

Foreword by Edouard PHILIPPE

AVANT-PROPOS D'EDOUARD PHILIPPE PRÉSIDENT DU GIP UN ÉTÉ AU HAVRE Depuis sa fondation, la ville du Havre porte les marques des plus grands visionnaires : l'intention originelle du roi François Ier en 1517, la naissance de l'impressionnisme avec Claude Monet, l'invention du langage de [...]

Foreword by Jean Blaise

AVANT-PROPOS DE JEAN BLAISE MIRAGES Tout a commencé en septembre 2020, suite à une balade (dans notre jargon, on appelle ça une séance de repérage) sur le front de mer, près de la Porte Océane. La ville était presque déserte. La lumière flagrante et le ciel sans nuages [...]

Le Groupement d'Intérêt Public Un Été au Havre © Patrick Boulen

The GIP un Été Au Havre public interest group

The GIP Un Été Au Havre Public Interest Group was created to manage this major event launched in 2017. The four founding members were the City of Le Havre, the Le Havre Seine Métropole urban community, HAROPA – Port of Le Havre, and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) of the Seine [...]

A social and civic commitment

Since 2017, two local associations have been collaborating to train visitor welcome assistants to work on some of the artworks and exhibitions presented during Un Été Au Havre. Founded in 2010, MARC is a local association gathering arts and culture professionals. One of its main purposes is to [...]

Les financeurs d'Un Été au Havre © Patrick Boulen

THE UN ÉTÉ AU HAVRE COMMUNITY

THE GIP UN ÉTÉ AU HAVRE PUBLIC INTEREST GROUP The GIP Un Été Au Havre Public Interest Group was created to manage this major event. The four founding members were the City of Le Havre, the Le Havre Seine Métropole urban community, HAROPA – Port of Le Havre, and the Chamber of Commerce and [...]

The LH Club

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry Seine-Estuaire does its utmost to encourage local stakeholders from all economic sectors to support Un Été Au Havre. With this in mind, two « Business » clubs were created in 2017 to coordinate and improve local patronage and enable all participants to [...]

THE TPE-PME CLUB

The TPE-PME Club enables all small and medium-sized companies located in Le Havre and the Seine Estuary to become sponsors of Un Été Au Havre and thus contribute to the attractiveness of the area. Indeed, corporate philanthropy actions have played a major part in the improvement of Le Havre's [...]

Trade Ambassadors

For Le Havre's 500th anniversary in 2017, there were one thousand Ambassadeurs du Commerce*. Today, their network still mobilises shop owners, craftsmen, service providers, and independent professionals, gathered to offer a warm welcome to all Un Été Au Havre visitors. Once again this year, [...]

Receive the newsletter