Inspiration

Annecy Paysages : the city dreamscape

July 2025

5 min.

Annecy Paysages is more than a simple art event; it transforms the cityscape into a poetic experience, and represents a heartfelt declaration of love for the city itself, the water that flows through it, the trees that provide shade, and the people who live here.

At a time when we talk a lot about making cities greener and rethinking our lifestyles, this event shows that art can be a powerful catalyst for these kinds of transformations. So, are you ready to embark on a unique and astonishing journey through the city?

Art is in the streets

Starting on July 5, 2025, Annecy transforms once again into an open-air museum.

For this eighth edition, Annecy Paysages returns to its biennial format, offering visitors a truly sensory-oriented way to explore the city, from natural to urban, dotted with 25 contemporary works of art on display, including seven new and never-before-seen creations.

This year, the Thiou River, Annecy’s iconic waterway, becomes the common thread for this artistic itinerary through the city center.

Scenery throughout the cityscape

Organized by Bonlieu National Theater, Annecy Paysages, since its inception, successfully established itself as a must-attend summer event in Annecy. Here, art leaves the museum to be displayed throughout the city streets, parks, and riverbanks.

Art melds into the cityscape, challenging norms while highlighting its beauty. The role here goes beyond aesthetics, entering the ecological, political, and even poetic realm. Spread throughout town, Annecy Paysages calls into question our relationship with the area, the city, and nature as climate change accelerates and hits the Alps especially hard.

“These artists, through their various forms of art, accomplish several small yet amazing feats – by using our senses and emotions as the point of entry, they offer a new way to look at our surroundings, showing us what we couldn’t see, or more poignantly, making the invisible visible, creating bonds between us as humans, and creating bonds with our natural habitat,” expresses David Moinard, Curator, Annecy Paysages 2025.

The art experience is divided into three zones:

Around the Imperial Palace Hotel and by the lake, immersing visitors in the peaceful beauty along the shore.
In the heart of Old Town, where the local architectural heritage converses with contemporary buildings.
Along the Thiou River, the backbone of this 2025 edition.

On the Thiou River

Short, winding, and beloved, the Thiou River is only two kilometers long. It connects Lake Annecy to the Fier River, yet crosses through an incredible variety of landscapes: mineral riverbanks, abandoned urban landscapes, partially wild areas, and busy neighborhoods. These scenic contrasts inspired the event’s artists.

The Thiou River acts as a beacon. It serves as a place to cool off, a refuge for local biodiversity, and a marker for Annecy’s long illustrious history. At a time when cities have to rethink their approach to urban planning in the face of climate change, this narrow ribbon of water becomes a symbol of a fragile balance as well as a vibrant canvas for artistic expression.

New artwork all over

This edition showcases seven original creations, several of which are positioned along the water. Enjoy a quick overview…

“Courbe de l’eau” by Zoro Feigl

Thiou Promenade – Hydroelectric dam

The loops of stainless steel right at the water’s surface are subjected to the current’s ebbs and flows. The spiral sculpture, with no beginning or end, confuses one’s perception with its infinite nature, reflecting the river’s calm power, bearing witness to an elusive underlying brute force.

“Déconquête” by Julien Berthier

Thiou Promenade – SNCF train bridge

The archetype of public sculpture, this is an alternative take on the horse statue. Stripped of its knight in shining armor, the horse stands alone in a rewilded landscape, raising a host of questions: will nature reclaim ground from humanity? Are the warrior symbol and the very notion of domination relics of the past? To each their own interpretation…

“Dendrochronologie” by Yuhsin U Chang

Thiou Promenade – Mercier Island

Science allows us to date past events by studying tree rings, a method known as dendrochronology, interpreted here as an exploded piece of wood. This natural archive provides insight into the past, recording climate events as well as many other phenomena. Here the entangled rings symbolize the tree’s powerful capacity to bear witness, forging a deep connection between the past and present, infinitesimally large and infinitesimally small.

“Glissement” by Chloé Beaulac

Thiou Promenade – Water Circle

Along a four-meter high, forty-meter long gabion wall, “Glissement” offers a vast optical illusion with striking depth, recreating a Roman aqueduct as an imaginary bridge connecting Annecy to Quebec. This visual story links nature and culture, human activity and nature’s resilience.

“Jour de fête” by Mireille Fulpius & Sylvie Bourcy

Louis Lachenal Promenad (Thiou)

The row boat motif, adrift and abandoned, is used here as poetic imagery. Fragile and tossed around by the wind, stranded and left behind, they evoke the shattered fates of those who used them, risking their lives in the hopes of a better future elsewhere.

“Kapia” by GRRIZ

Thiou Promenade – Sainte-Thérèse du Québec Bridge

On this particular footbridge the artist chose to create a functional sculpture in the form of a wooden shelter, inviting passersby to sit and take in the surroundings of a place they often hurry past. The mirror surface of the framework reflects the sky, the water, the shadows, and the light, while the alcove transforms this once-overlooked public space into a place to connect with others.

“Still Standing” by Antony Gormley

Roof of Turbine Sciences

From the Claudine and Jean-Marc Salomon collection, this is the first time that the “Still Standing” sculpture is on display in a public space in Annecy. A body standing straight at attention in a vertigo inducing position, silent on the edge; the vertical silhouette converses with the urban landscape and the world down below.

Art for everyone to ponder

Annecy Paysages has always emphasized accessibility through this free, open-to-all tour. On foot, by bike, alone, with family, or with friends explore every aspect of this art trail. Whether an art aficionado or new to the experience, Annecy Paysages offers an alternative way to discover Annecy. Like a living theater, the city, nature, and each creation intertwine; visitors simply need to open their eyes and take a pause now and then to access this unique way to view the space, letting their senses and sense of imagination run wild.

An illustrated version of the art trail

To accompany this edition, illustrator Priscille Depinay was asked to come up with a graphic version of the art trail. Educated at the School of Fine Arts in Rouen, she mixes traditional sketches with digital coloring, creating a realistic yet subtly idiosyncratic world. Her work weaves a visual narrative, playing with scale and atmosphere. She poetically reinterprets each work of art, creating a subjective map of Annecy Paysages. Through her illustrations, visitors can immerse themselves in art trail before making the first step, or even extend the experience after the tour.

An event deeply rooted in the area

Annecy Paysages blends seamlessly into the local cultural fabric, with several partners making contributions during the summer by organizing exhibitions, performances, talks, and other experiences aligned with the spirit of the event. Annecy is far more than postcard-perfect landscapes; it is a place that encourages artistic experimentation, environmental awareness, and shared creations that provide space for expression and sensitivity.

Establishing a biennial schedule is an important shift that runs counter to the frenetic pace of today’s cultural consumption, offering a chance to slow down, to reflect, and to let our gaze linger. It also gives artists more time to create works of art meant to remain in place for an extended period of time, designed to foster a dialogue with their surroundings. This change encourages us to better savor the unique character of the event. Annecy Paysages is an invitation to take your time to stroll, reflect, and immerse yourself in thought and wonder.

Annecy Paysages

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Inspiration

Minds bubbling with creativity

Top of page photo credit:

Journalist: Gaëlle Tagliabue

Translation: Darin Reisman