Inspiration

Annecy paysages

Annecy from another point of view

35 works of art, 15 expos and events over 3 months

June 2022

7 min.

Annecy paysages, an extraordinarily ambitious and alluring project created by Bonlieu National Theater and led by artistic director Salvador Garcia, provides visitors and locals alike the chance to embark on an artistic journey through Annecy. For the 2022 edition, from July 2 through September 25, enjoy viewing thirty-five works of art throughout the city, including sixteen never-before-seen pieces, all adding another dimension to public spaces and offering the chance to view the natural surroundings and iconic historic sites around Lake Annecy from a unique perspective.

Created on location specifically for Annecy paysages, each work comes from an open dialog between the artistic director, the artists who draw their inspiration from the city and landscapes, and the chosen spot for each masterpiece.

Whether massive or more understated, some pieces take over the public space while others weave their way more subtly into the landscape. Among the many works on display, a handful remain permanent pieces, forever integrated into the cityscape, while others from past editions reappear specifically for the occasion.

On this unconventionally original tour, explore downtown Annecy along with other neighborhoods like Novel-Les Teppes, Saint-Jean in Seynod, and Les Clarines in Annecy-le-Vieux.

This project results from the coordinated teamwork between the cultural programs in Annecy. The positive impact has a real unifying effect on the community.

Don’t miss these works of art

We selected a handful of new creations to provide you with a preview of the wonderfully imaginative Annecy paysages works to marvel at as you wander through the city streets…

Let’s start with the Albigny promenade and its legendary sycamore trees. From their branches, artist Jean-Denant hung several metal mirror-like plaques. In the middle of each plaque, he cut out the shapes of the surrounding buildings to create a unique conversation between nature and architecture.

As we move on to François de Menthon Square, across the street from the main entrance to Centre Courier Mall and known for its stone-grey disposition, stare in awe at the giant manta ray. The hanging sculpture, made with an intricate latticework of bamboo by Atelier Déambulons, “Tranquillité” will glide peacefully and provide shade with its fully-deployed wing-like fins.

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In Evêché Square, wander around the botanical garden created by Collective R, “Natures en nuances” (Nuance in nature). This project, made in collaboration with the City of Annecy’s landscaping and biodiversity department, will change over time as the plants bloom, offering a color shading and palette similar to a flower painting.

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In the center of Jardins de l’Europe Park, a new work by Bob Verschueren has just been added to those made for past editions. “Comme un nuage” (Like a cloud), a gigantic tree with strange leaves that form a cloud of wires and wood branches, will stand tall among its natural cousins.

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And finally, as usual, one of Bonlieu’s walls will receive a makeover. This year, in collaboration with the gallery Art by Friends, street artist Felipe Pantone will express his talent.

New for 2022: Annecy paysages goes virtual

An innovation in 2022, virtual works of art will become a part of Annecy paysages as it continues to push the limits of artistic expression and explore new horizons. Annecy is well-known as a hub for digital excellence, and the amazing work results from a collaboration between 18 students at the Ecole by CCI-Les Goeblins Annecy and the startup Async. The four original creations imagined by the students in Annecy will be visible using augmented reality through the Annecy paysages application.

“Le Cœur d’Annecy” (Annecy’s beating heart), located at the St-Jean Well, offers you the chance to see what the city would be like if it was a giant living organism with the canals as its veins and arteries.

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In Charles Bosson Park, you can chase down the long sunken boat, Le France, through “Une plongée au cœur de l’histoire” (Diving deep into history), which uncovers long-lost mysteries and ghosts from the depths of the lake.

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Along the Côte St-Maurice hillside, “Poésie Urbaine” (Urban poetry) tells the story of how the lake was formed by angels’ tears as they cried when forced to leave Earth. What would have happened if they had never stopped shedding their tears?

And finally, “Souche de vie” (Strain of life) in the center of Evêché Square, embark on a unique encounter with the soul of a tree by learning the story of its fallen branches and leaves that find, over the course of the fantasy, all of their former magnificence.

Through these virtual works, Annecy paysages offers a nod to the area’s many gifted people and launches the next phase in developing projects that bring digital experts together with talented artists. This should foster a new era of creative, technically demanding art, another way to open the realm of possibility and push beyond the limits of our collective imagination.

Download the Annecy paysages application

This incredibly useful tool will play tour guide as you wind your way through town along the many paths Annecy paysages has in store you. The same-named application offers different ways to approach the many works of art. You can start a walk based on your location, or look for specific works and spots, or choose a preset itinerary based on an area that particularly interests you, like the old part of the city or along the shores of the lake.

The app, available for free on Google Play or the App Store, also allows you to use augmented reality to take full advantage of each work.

Download the app

Zooming in on blasts from the past

Certain works of art from past editions will make an appearance to the delight of returning visitors.

For example, the giant lotus flower created by popular Korean artist Choi Jeong Hwa opens and closes its petals as it breaths in and out and will take center stage on the esplanade in front of City Hall.

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The lighting effects created by Sophie Laly, which illuminate when night falls, reveal a mysterious house on Île des Cygnes / Swan Island; another artistic encounter that everyone continues to enjoy.

The giant “Bal-ysage” swings, created by Les Nouveaux Voisins and architects Nicolas Grun and Pierre Laurent and located in Martyrs Square behind Bonlieu, make fun and games the center of everyone’s attention and will bask, once again, in their much deserved success.

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The constantly evolving “Kokedamas” miracle garden with its tiny, hanging, self-sufficient ecosystems in the courtyard in front of the Palais de l’Île entrance, straight out of the vivid imagination of Judith Dumez and Elisha Joho Monnerat, provides a refreshingly poetic yet explosive gust of creativity.

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Every side of the metal prism created by the design agency After Apricot and the architectural firm Bach Mühle Fuchs, located in the splendid gardens of the Imperial Palace hotel, provides a unique fragmented view of the lake and the mountains.

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La Grande Traversée ("The Great Traverse"): a gravity-defying acrobatic event

You may have heard of Nathan Paulin, the twenty-first century’s version of a tightrope walker, since he recently set the world highline record at Mt. St-Michel, walking across a 2200m long slackline strung 100m above the ground. Originally from Le Reposoir in the Aravis Mountains, he first started slacklining in Jardins de l’Europe Park, and will be present for the fantastic evening event and great traverse on a highline between the Imperial Palace Hotel and the Pâquier.

Schedule for the evening’s festivities, on Tuesday July 19:

19:00 (7:00pm): picnic and music on the Pâquier
20:30 (8:30pm): Great Traverse, which should last 45 to 55 minutes
21:00 (9:30pm): “Birds on a Wire” concert – Rosemary Standley and Dom La Nena
21:00-23:00 (9:00pm-11:00pm): between Jardins de l’Europe Park and Vassé Canal, acrobatic dancing on a crane and in trees, highlining and slacklining, musicians hanging in mid-air, movement art, levitations, and other surprises.

Fill up on expos and events

Annecy paysages offers the chance to take full advantage of the feature events and exceptional expos day-in and day-out for three months.

Among the highlights:

from July 4 through July 30, enjoy “Les Estivales” (Summer Fun) experience, a variety of performances, encounters, concerts, and screenings organized by Théâtre de l’Échange in partnership with Images Passages.
With Turbines Sciences, sound takes center stage on the connected walk “Hors les murmures” (If the Streets Could Talk). Take the opportunity to listen to the noises of the city as you are fully immersed in sound-filled experience like never before (Wednesdays – July 13 and August 17). Another option, “Le Thiou, un voyage sonore au fil du temps” (The Thiou River, a Journey Through Sound Across Time), runs every Thursday from July 21 through the end of August.
The Polyèdre in Seynod will take you on a “Voyage Galatique” (Galactic Voyage) through a sculptural mapping show by Claude Forot and his students around a sculpture made up of 7 cubes on which photos are projected onto each side.
From July 1 to 31, expos and discussions are organized at the Art By Friends gallery, including atypical artistic and culinary encounters organized by “Petits Fours Galerie”.
The Abbaye presents, in collaboration with the Claudine and Jean-Marc Salomon Foundation for Contemporary Art, a monograph expo by Giuseppe Penone through August 28, to learn about the work of this Arte Povera master.
With La Fabric, the Salomon Foundation will also showcase the work of Elodie Lesourd, who uses music as a way to explore how to capture something so temporary and fleeting. Enjoy the expo through September 17.

Great ideas: consider riding a bike around Annecy paysages

The best ways to truly enjoy the artistic journey Annecy paysages offers is either on foot or on a bike. In addition, the event’s DNA serves to showcase and preserve the area’s beautiful environment and landscapes.

Think about renting a bike or taking advantage of the bicycle services Vélonecy has to offer.

Annecy paysages