As a port city, Le Havre has always been open to the world. Since 2017, thanks to A Summer In Le Havre, the whole world is now looking towards Le Havre, its culture, its inhabitants, and its unique architecture. It is a great source of pride for the Havrais who have rediscovered their city with a new benevolent perspective. After an unforgettable first edition on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the city and a second edition in 2018, A Summer In Le Havre will disrupt our daily lives from 29th June. With Jean Blaise, we have decided to play with the architecture designed by Auguste Perret. During several months, the city will be the playground of several major international artists who will turn Le Havre into an open-air museum.
Not an old-fashioned gloomy museum, but an animated and colourful museum where you are allowed to touch things, move, laugh… and live ! Whether Le Havre is your hometown or whether it is the first time you visit the city, this is an opportunity for us to enjoy life and the city, its seafront promenade, and its renovated Quai de Southampton. An opportunity to open our ears and our eyes, to create lasting memories, to be surprised once again, and to share strong feelings. A Summer In Le Havre will be held every year to remind us that the city once was 500 years old and that it is now resolutely looking to the future. So, let’s get ready : the 2019 edition of A Summer In Le Havre is just round the corner !
Jean-Baptiste Gastinne,
Mayor of Le Havre
President of the Le Havre Seine Métropole Urban Community President of the Summer In Le Havre Public Interest Group
NAUGHTY LITTLE RASCALS
Le Havre is a city of architects to be discovered with the respect due to great creative minds. That does not prevent us from tickling it to upset its immobility. In an attempt to reveal the Perret architecture, we have embarked on a quest to find artists capable of disrupting its strict aspect by introducing a bit of derision and fun into the space it occupies. Stephan Balkenhol’s ordinary-looking but quirky characters are enjoying a new life on the facades of the buildings situated Rue de Paris while Erwin Wurm is moving to his Narrow House – designed after the Home Sweet Home of his Austrian parents – on Avenue Foch, next to the most beautiful Perret buildings…
Henrique Oliveira is blowing up everything with his gigantic roots coming from the depths of the earth while Susan Philipsz is recreating the sound of a strong breeze coming from the sea and the sound of her own body inside Saint Joseph’s Church. Olivier Grossetête is building a whole cardboard city on Saturday to tear it down on Sunday. A Summer In Le Havre is the meticulous staging of a urban disorganisation designed to liven up the city. To awake a sleeping giant, you have to tickle him. The artists selected for this edition of A Summer In Le Havre perfectly know how. And when the giant awakes, they smile like naughty little rascals.
Jean Blaise
A Summer In Le Havre Artistic Director
A major opening event on 29th and 30th June 2019
For one weekend only, take a tour of Cités oubliées, a huge city made of cardboard, composed of 18 buildings culminating at 30 metres above the ground !
Olivier Grossetête, Cités oubliées, participatory ephemeral artwork A poetic, human, and artistic experience
On 29th and 30th June, the Quai de Southampton will host two days of celebration into the fantasy world of the Cités oubliées. Desgined by Olivier Grossetête for the opening of A Summer In Le Havre 2019, the Cités oubliées are composed of 18 cardboard buildings culminating at 30 metres above the ground! Assembled with the help of residents and visitors passing through Le Havre, the buildings will be installed on site on 25th June. On Saturday 29th June, the finishing touches of the ephemeral cardboard city will be added, with the participation of the public! The Cités oubliées will be open to the public in the evening. At 10 pm, DJ Joakim – founder of French label Tigersushi – will show his skills on the decks for an unforgettable party night on the quay. On Sunday 30th June at noon, a giant street party will take place in the Cités oubliées. Later in the afternoon, to conclude this crazy weekend, the Cités oubliées will be collectively destroyed, leaving nothing but memories of magical moments. This event will mark the opening of A Summer In Le Havre 2019. Visitors will then be able to discover 10 new artworks and installations scattered throughout the city.
Henrique Oliveira, Sisyphus CasemateA hybrid, almost living artwork created in situ
Sprawling roots stretching through exhibition halls, swollen buildings and furniture spilling their wooden tumours… The works of Henrique Oliveira flourish, bearing life and intriguing at the same time. The Brazilian artist is renowned for his sculptures and installations recognisable by their use of irregularly shaped pieces of wood coming from « tapumes » – cheap wooden plates used in Brazil to hide construction sites from passers-by. Regular visitors of the Palais de Tokyo will probably have Baitogogo – an installation reintroducing knotty natural outlines within a calibrated space – in mind. The installations designed by Henrique Oliveira represent an increasingly invasive wilderness blending with architecture. His original installation created in situ in the Jardins Suspendus is a hybrid, almost living artwork made of different types of wood. This monumental organic sculpture looks familiar but also creates an impression of mystery and enigma. This artwork fits perfectly within this botanical garden dedicated to the preservation of nature.
Stephan Balkenhol
Original artworks on the Perret facades
Stephan Balkenhol has sculpted human figures from wood, ceramic, or bronze for almost 40 years. His sculptures are influenced by the history of human representation, from the statuary art of Ancient Egypt with his hybrid characters (Giraffe-Man, 1995) to the statuary art of Greco-Roman myths, explored through the evocation of Atlas or Perseus (Perseus Holding The Head of Medusa, 2018). The artist is also influenced by polychrome sculptures of the Middle Ages and actually paints his own – except for the flesh, for which he leaves the natural colour of the wood. For A Summer In Le Havre, German artist Stephan Balkenhol has given life to new members of his family of inanimate characters whose magnetic eyes would captivate anyone’s attention… His unique original ceramic creations will be found on the facades of the buildings of the Rue de Paris. To find out more about the artist’s universe, two dedicated exhibitions will take place at Le Portique – the Contemporary Art Centre of Le Havre – and the Niemeyer Library.
Erwin Wurm, Narrow HouseDistorted reality
With Austrian artist Erwin Wurm, bodies, houses, and objects are distorted, swollen, and contorted to illustrate the absurdities of the world we live in. Their exaggerated proportions reflect the ludicrous disparities of our societies, particularly under the influence of economics. The restriction illustrated by his Narrow House (2010) contrasts with his oversized cars and houses (Fat House, 2003). In Erwin Wurm’s Narrow House, reality is neither virtual nor augmented. It is altered. Distorted. As if the whole contruction, interior decoration, and everyday objects had suffered an uneven transformation while making a mockery of usual proportions. Its presence on the Avenue Foch – the main throughfare linking the City Hall to the beach – constrasts with the straight lines of the city centre reconstructed by Perret.
Erwin Wurm, Fat CarStraight out of a cartoon !
The Fat Car is parked at the Hôtel
Dubocage de Bléville, in the Saint-
François District, the historic centre of
the city. It is parked in the courtyard of
the mansion and is surrounded by 26
chairs designed by Quebec sculptor
Michel Goulet. As a true magician of
shapes, volumes, and proportions,
Austrian artist Erwin Wurm has designed
a car at the crossroads between
excessive vanity… and candyfloss ! His
Fat Car has all the features of a genuine
vehicle – including the metallic grey paint
of most classic models – but its obese
lines and chubby flesh-coloured seats
reflect the excessiveness of industrialised societies in which men only seem to exist through overconsumption… During your visit, do not miss the opportunity to discover the permanent collection of the museum, including the room dedicated to the discovery of Clipperton Island by famous Louis XIV privateer, navigator, and merchant Michel Joseph Dubocage de Bléville (1676-1727) who once owned the mansion.
Susan Philipsz, OCEANGATEsound installation
A maritime artwork to listen to
Scottish sculptor Susan Philipsz is also a renowned sound installation artist. Her works usually consist of installing several speakers in public spaces or exhibition halls to broadcast soundtracks she composed and recorded herself. Her creations are influenced by the places in which they are installed, as well as their history. In Le Havre, she has settled in the iconic Saint Joseph’s Church – one of Auguste Perret’s masterpieces – to broadcast a unique marine atmospheric soundtrack. Inspired by the specific structure of the church – with its tall lantern tower – Susan Philipsz will restore the link with the sea using architectural elements. She recorded her own breath to get the organ of the church to sound like fog horns…
Antoine Schmitt, La Sprite, light art installation Open your mind to alien life forms
Visual artist Antoine Schmitt creates artworks in the form of objects, installations, and situations to address the processes of movement and question their intrinsic problematics of plastic, philosophical, or social nature. Heir of kinetic art and cybernetic art, and nourished by metaphysical science fiction, he endlessly questions the dynamic interactions between human nature and reality. La Sprite is an artificial creature living in the chimneys of the Le Havre EDF power plant. It appears at night, dances, moves, and turns, leaping from one chimney to another by diving into the depths of the earth or jumping in the night sky. This moody creature can be happy or tired, edgy or relaxed, fragile or energetic, and is overly sensitive to the weather.
The art school students
Young artists added to the programme
For the 2019 edition of A Summer In Le Havre, the artistic direction of the event has decided to add some promising local artists to its programme.
The focus is on the Art Media Environment (A.M.E.) section of the ESADHaR (Ecole Supérieur d’Art et Design Le Havre-Rouen) whose reflection is based on a dual notion : constructive criticism of our use of media and technology, and reflection on ecology. It is an international project which includes classes in English and in French. This unique course was created in 2017 by the HeHe collective – composed of ESADHaR teachers – under the influence of Thierry Heyden, the director.
Artist duo HeHe is composed of Helen Evans and Heiko Hansen. Through installations and performances, HeHe raises the issue of the ever-increasing energy needs of modern society by “visualising” social, industrial, and ecological paradoxes.
Antoine Dieu
Cabanes de plage
Verticality on the horizon
Antoine Dieu was born in Rouen in 1996. This artist and sportsman fell in love for Le Havre in 2015 and graduated from the ESADHaR in 2018. Like a mad scientist, he cleverly mixes fantasy, love for the game, and irony in all his works. Some of his installations include : a wishing well in which coins float, goal posts with right angles, and a rotting « île flottante » – installed in the hall of the ENSM (Ecole Nationale Supérieure Maritime) of Le Havre – which clearly upsets the seamen. Antoine Dieu is the author of the Cabanes de plageinstallation.
Baptiste Leroux
Shell
Which world does it come from ?
Baptiste Leroux was born in Paris in 1995. His background includes graphic design studies in Rouen and Art studies at the University of Paris 1. Today, he is pursuing his studies at the ESADHaR, in Le Havre. Inspired by narrative processes and experiments, his works mostly consist of interactive, autonomous, and evolving installations. Shell will settle in the Saint-François district, near the Bassin du Roy.
The permanent collection
8 artworks from previous editions to (re)discover
Fabien Mérelle, Jusqu’au Bout du MondeThe Bout du Monde beach
Rising 6.24 metres above the pebbles, this white resin sculpture is an invitation to look out to the sea. The artist wanted it to be « like a totem, an exclamation mark in the landscape. It had to be something tall and vertical, like a punctuation mark in the landscape. »
This sculpture is a personal interpretation of the relationship between a father and his child. It actually represents the artist himself – in his pyjamas – with his daughter on his shoulders. This depiction of a fragment of family history invites us to share an intimate narrative and let our imagination project our own story.
Lang / Baumann, UP#3The beach
A massive 10-metre tall radiant white concrete structure offering a new perspective on the city and the sea. After a thorough analysis of the venue and the context, Sabrina Lang and Daniel Baumann enter into a dialogue with the existing situation, often upsetting expectations and apprehensions in the process. With their rich imagery, their works are always at the crossroads between public and private spaces, familiarity and unfamiliarity, and art and functionality.
Vincent Ganivet, Catène de containersQuai de Southampton
Two monumental arches made of 36 shipping containers intertwine, culminating at 25 metres above the ground. Inspired by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi’s use of catenary curves, Vincent Ganivet likes to build arches, domes, and cupolas, which resemble the structures of Roman cathedrals. Using shipping containers – as a nod to port activities – he has managed to give these gigantic straight-lined structures amazing grace and subtlety.
VINCI Construction France is the proud sponsor of this permanent installation
Karel Martens, Couleurs sur la plageThe beach
Over 500 of the 713 beach huts of this « little village by the sea » have been painted with colours. With the help of researchers from the University of Le Havre – Normandy, Dutch graphic designer Karel Martens chose 10 different colours and 6 widths of stripes which alternate following the pattern defined by an algorithm generated from the founding charter of the city, issued by King Francis I in 1517.
Alexandre Moronnoz, ParaboleCaucriauville, Pré Fleuri
A 15-metre wide satellite dish made from Douglas fir overlooks the city and offers a stunning view on the estuary of the River Seine, the port, the city, and the English Channel…
Alexandre Moronnoz graduated from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Création Industrielle and has worked on various urban projects, always exploring new ways of observing and taking over public places.
Stéphane Thidet, ImpactBassin du commerce
Two powerful jets of water collide to reproduce the shape of the footbridge which spans this sea water basin. Colliding in a random interplay, they give off a mist of iridescent spray that blurs around the edges. For the artist, « this ever-changing display is all about power, as it symbolises strength and fragility ».
ChevalVert, Le Temps suspenduJardins Suspendus
A gigantic group photo of the local population realised for the 500th anniversary of the city. This 2017 snapshot of the local population is composed of tens of thousands of portraits. Design studio ChevalVert created this permanent interactive display in a former gunpowder magazine. It opened on 8th October 2017 to mark the 500th anniversary of the city. It combines the portraits of the inhabitants taken in the photo booths or in the Clic Clac mobile studio. This project was launched during A Summer In Le Havre 2017. Each participant received a code for their photo in order to be able to find their picture in this massive digital portrait gallery.
Baptiste Debombourg, Jardins fantômes
The works of Baptiste Debombourg tend to divulge the unspoken, reveal stories from silence, and throw light on shadows. Behinds his sculptures and their materials, stories are either sheltered or exposed. As a “repairing” artist, he fixes cracked walls and broken furniture and objects without hiding scars.
This hybrid artwork is situated at the foot of the statue representing King Francis I, the
founder of Le Havre
A Summer In Le Havre major exhibitions
Dufy in Le Havre
MuMa, Musée d’Art Moderne André Malraux
From 18th May to 3rd November 2019
A collection of nearly 90 artworks gathered for the first time
Raoul Dufy was born in Le Havre in 1877. Throughout his life, he remained moored to Le Havre. It was his ideal city, a landscape for the mind that supplied his favourite subjects. The exhibition taking place at MuMa features nearly 90 artworks that have never been displayed together before, inviting visitors to reconsider the works of this major 20thcentury artist from a fresh perspective. The juxtaposition of paintings and watercolours from different periods reveals a fascinating shift in Dufy’s relationship with the subject. At first faithfully rendered, the Bay of Le Havre and Sainte-Adresse is gradually recomposed and synthesized, then finally reinvented. At the end of his life, far from Le Havre and scarred by the war, Dufy endlessly returned to his favourite subject. To him, Le Havre had finally become an inner landscape.
Legend : Le Cargo Noir à Sainte-Adresse (detail), circa 1948-1952
Oil on hardboard, 40.4 x 51 cm. Cahors, musée Henri-Martin, deposit by Centre Pompidou-MNAM/CCI, Paris, donations from Mrs Raoul Dufy, 1963 © Photo CNAC/MNAM Dist. RMN – Jean-François Tomasian © Adagio, Paris 2019
Stephan Balkenhol
Le Portique, Contemporary Art Centre of Le Havre
From 18th May to 3rd November 2019
A collection of enigmatic – and funny – wooden sculptures
Stephan Balkenhol (born in 1957) is an internationally renowned German artist who lives and works between Karlsruhe and Meisenthal (France). He is famous for his monumental sculptures and his interventions in public places. Through his works, he reinvents figurative wood carving from the Middle Ages by choosing everyday characters as subjects instead of holy figures, while adding elements of popular culture to his sculptures. Even though he creates his characters from tree trunks – wood being his favourite material – he always places the human figure at the centre of his works. Standing on pedestals, his characters look down on centuries of artistic creation. He has already produced the equivalent of a large forest of human characters made of organic materials, thus underlining the relation between mankind and Mother Earth. By giving expressiveness to anonymous bodies, Balkenhol delivers a story at the crossroads between collective memory, history of art, and history of mankind.
EXHIBIT !
Fort ! and Le Tetris
From 29th June to 8th September 2019
The digital arts and cultures summer event in Normandy
Guest artists : Nils Völker (Berlin), Niklas Roy (Berlin), Friedrich Van Schoor (Germany)
Organised by Le Tetris – the city’s major contemporary music venue – EXHIBIT! is the digital arts component of A Summer In Le Havre. It is THE digital arts and cultures summer event in Normandy. This year, EXHIBIT! presents an exhibition by Nils Völker, an open-to- all Fablab inviting people to contribute to a participatory artwork designed by Niklas Roy, and a night-time animation by German artist Friedrich Van Schoor involving a huge insect which could have escaped from The Shooting Star… or from one of our worst nightmares!
A Summer… by night !
The Fort de Tourneville is the best place to enjoy A Summer In Le Havre under the moonlight. The installations designed by Friedrich Van Schoor and Niklas Roy are visible and active at night. While you are there, follow the footpaths leading to the belvedere nestled in the woods to enjoy the view on La Sprite.
A Summer In Le Havre discovery tours
3 coloured discovery tours – starting from the Maison du Patrimoine situated on Place Perret – have been designed to guide you for half a day or a few hours through the monumental artworks, the exhibitions, and all the significant local heritage places.
Blue tour
Along the stream
This discovery tour will guide you through the city centre reconstructed by Auguste Perret and its historic basins, and will also invite you to stroll along the coast from the recently rehabilitated Grand Quai du Havre to the famous “Nice Havrais”. Artistic emotion has not been overlooked either ! On this tour, you will come across several unique artworks influenced by the maritime heritage of the city. From the colourful Catène de containers, through the OCEANGATE and its waft of sea breeze taking over Saint Joseph’s Church, toJusqu’au bout du monde, this tour is an invitation to look out to the sea and wonder what is across the ocean…
Green tour
From one garden to another
A breath of fresh air in the heart of the city ! This discovery tour has been designed to guide you through open spaces and natural landscapes. Stroll along the second largest avenue in Europe and visit the Square Saint Roch before you walk through a massive doorway open towards the sea. Then, walk to the Jardins Suspendus to look at the Temps Suspendu interactive face book as well as Sysiphus Casemate, an impressive wooden installation by Brazilian artist Henrique Oliveira. Finally, follow a quiet footpath through the forest to avoid the hustle and bustle of the city.
Red tour
From stairways to basins
Le Havre is a city with many different faces… and this tour will definitely prove it! It will guide you through several historic and architectural peculiar places and a great variety of exhibitions. Catch the funicular and discover Le Fort !, situated in the Tourneville district, a vibrant and dynamic cultural site offering a breathtaking view on the city. Then, as you walk down the stairways, you will enjoy the sight of the beautiful Art Deco villas on your way to Le Portique and the Stephan Balkenhol exhibition. This tour ends in the Saint François district, the historic centre of the city, where fishermen and sailors have gathered since Le Havre was founded.
