Pop-up Collections

Mathieu Kleyebe ABONNENC, Tessilim ADJAYI, Socheata AING, Alighiero e Boetti, Daniel G. ANDÚJAR, Renaud AUGUSTE-DORMEUIL, Delphine BALLEY, Raphaël BARONTINI, Walter BARRIENTOS, Mathieu BOISADAN, Christian BOLTANSKI, Belkacem BOUDJELLOULI, Guillaume BRESSON, Benoît BROISAT, Jean-Baptiste BRUANT, Thibault BRUNET, Alain BUBLEX, Nina CHILDRESS, CLAIRET + JUGNET, Claude CLOSKY, Johan CRETEN, Acaymo S. CUESTA, Nicolas DAUBANES, Simone DECKER, Philippe DECRAUZAT, Sophie DUBOSC, Jimmie DURHAM, Esther FERRER, Daniel FIRMAN, Jacques GAMELIN, Jean-Jacques HENNER, IKHÉA©SERVICES, Alfredo JAAR, Nicène KOSSENTINI, Suzanne LAFONT, Mehdi-Georges LAHLOU, Jean-Paul LAURENS, LE GENTIL GARÇON, Fiorenza MENINI, Boris MIKHAÏLOV, Roméo MIVEKANNIN, Charles MONGINOT, OLI, Marie ORENSANZ, Eugène PECH, Marie PETIET, Liliana PORTER, Nissrine SEFFAR, Cristina TOLEDO, Caroline TRUCCO, Thomas TUDOUX, Xavier VEILHAN, Jeanne VICERIAL, Gil J WOLMAN

Pop-up Collections offers a journey through contemporary art across five heritage sites in the city of Carcassonne, inviting the public to take a fresh look at these spaces that have stood the test of time. Born out of a dialogue between three of Occitanie’s leading collections – those of the Carcassonne Museum of Fine Arts, the Frac Occitanie Montpellier and Les Abattoirs, Musée – Frac Occitanie Toulouse, this major exhibition explores the relationships between past and present, heritage and creation, territory and collections.

‘Art and history’ form the central theme, unfolding from Jean-Paul Laurens’ painting Les emmurés de Carcassonne (The Walled-In People of Carcassonne), dated 1879. It is one of the few works in the Carcassonne Museum of Fine Arts’ collection that evokes the city’s cruel religious past in the Middle Ages through the episode of the liberation of the Albigensians, prisoners of the Inquisition. Despite the violence of the subject, it is the conciliatory gesture of the Franciscan Bernard Délicieux, directed at the people of Carcassonne, which takes centre stage. In the same vein, the exhibition highlights multiple stories within the broader narrative of history.

Pop-up Collections thus brings together works in various media (paintings, sculptures, installations, videos and photographs) by over 50 artists from different periods, backgrounds and nationalities. They construct narratives on the margins of official history, using or subverting the codes of art, whilst revealing personal and collective memories. Each work acts as a pop-up, opening up unique aesthetics and unfolding multiple layers of interpretation and new readings of past and present events.

The exhibition reveals episodes in the history of a humanity plagued by its demons, marked by conflict, domination, displacement and the exploitation of resources. Faced with these divisions, some artists seek, document and produce critical forms. Their works, like manifestos, challenge our certainties and analyse the place of the individual and the artist in our contemporary societies. Other artists explore more intimate narratives, drawing on heritage, family memories, daily practices and solitudes that may resonate with each and every one of us. As a point of intersection between the individual and the collective, the works in the exhibition subtly reveal the fragility of bodies, the beauty of souls and the freedom of movement.

The Pop-up Collections trail

The Pop-up Collections exhibition has been designed as a trail through the city, inviting visitors – residents of Carcassonne, tourists, school groups and others – on a sensory, accessible and surprising stroll through five heritage sites. Each stage of the trail offers a gateway to unique spaces, works and narratives.

At the Museum of Fine Arts, contemporary works draw on history and art history. They follow the layout of the exhibition galleries and punctuate the permanent collections, echoing the classical works.

At the Centre for Contemporary Art, housed in the 19th-century mansion of the former Banque de France, each room showcases the work of a single artist, inviting visitors to discover their personal universe.

In the Chapelle des Dominicaines, a monumental piece draws on equestrian and martial statuary.

At the Halle aux Grains, imposing photoluminescent silhouettes stretch beneath the roof trusses and light up at dusk.

Finally, the Chapelle Saint-Gimer showcases the results of educational projects led by teachers from the city of Carcassonne. The pupils’ creations are based on the exhibition’s theme.