Frac des Pays de la Loire 21e Ateliers Internationaux 2008

Mapping of artworks’ movements around the world here!

The Frac, unlike museums or art centres, cannot be pinned down to a single exhibition venue. Its collection and exhibitions are intrinsically nomadic – cultural assets that travel.

The ‘Hors les Murs’ (off-site) programme of the Frac des Pays de la Loire is organised across all five regional départements with specific projects designed and tailored to each particular situation and context. Thanks to its ever-evolving networking at regional level, the Frac is a key contact for many cultural players in the public sphere, as well as for local authorities seeking to develop a cultural offering in the area of contemporary art. All of the Frac team bring their expertise to each project, guiding the other parties through its design, definition and implementation. The Frac’s extensive collection now makes it possible to devise a very wide range of theme-based projects at regional level. Artists are also called upon to be present in certain projects, thereby involving them in the design of an exhibition or residency, outreach or hands-on project with target audiences (schools in particular).

Regional territory

Every year the Frac is careful to balance out its offering throughout the whole region, paying particular attention to areas with little access to cultural facilities. The network of partner institutions is vast – heritage sites (historical monuments, museums, religious buildings, etc.); cultural and socio-cultural institutions (art centres, cultural centres, community centres, libraries and multimedia resource centres, theatres, etc.); administrations (hospitals, prisons, local administrative bodies, local authorities, …); and schools as part of an agreement with the local education authority – and offers a highly diverse range of possible venues for Frac intervention. Forms of outreach activities tailored to each context are offered to meet the specific requirements of each target audience.

Artwork loans for a duration of 3, 5 or 10 years are also contracted with the administrative authorities (Prefecture, DRAC Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs, Regional Council, County Council, …) and museums in the region. For these local museums, the loans are a long-term opportunity to increase and enhance their contemporary collections. More than 60 works are on loan from the Frac to the Musée d’Arts de Nantes.

National and international territories

Alongside the work undertaken by the Frac at regional level, it receives requests for loans from its collection from all over France and abroad. Museums, art centres and other exhibition planners approach the Frac to request loans from its collection. These enquiries are submitted in the context of major monographic exhibitions or the-based events. They highlight the collection’s wealth and reflect the Frac’s open-looking perspective on the outside world.

In addition, the association Platform, which brings together the 23 Frac structures, has been pursuing exchange and cooperation at international level since 2003. This has led to the collections travelling as part of large-scale exhibitions in Europe, the United States, Asia and Latin America in some of the leading international institutions.