PHOTO: 32 French towns replace advertising posters with... works of art
Project aims to ‘bring a ray of light into people’s lives’ with over 1,000 spaces being converted
In total, more than 1,000 advertising spaces have been replaced with prints, ranging from modern paintings to classics
La Beauté Sauvera Le Monde
Communes across France are temporarily replacing advertisements in public spaces with works of arts as part of a ‘beautifying project’.
32 communes are taking part in the project entitled ‘Beauty will save the world’ including towns in the Parisian suburbs, Brittany, central France and cities in the south-east (including Aix-en-Provence and Saint-Raphaël).
These areas will see advertising on billboards, buses and bus stops, shopping centres and elsewhere in the public sphere replaced with prints of famous paintings between November 16 and December 8.
A full map of participating communes can be found here.
One commune (Talmont-Saint-Hilaire in the Vendée) will take part in March 2025 which will coincide with the time limit to finish of the Vendée Globe sailing race.
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What is the aim of the project?
The aim of the project is to “embellish and humanise public spaces,” said Quentin Brière, mayor of Saint-Dizier (Haute-Marne) in a press conference about the project.
Saint-Dizier was the first town to replace advertisements with artwork in 2021.
“Not only in the town centre, but also in the shopping areas and town entrances that some people call ‘la France moche’,” he added.
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“The public space is the last place that everyone has something in common,” the mayor added.
“We have taken what is ugly, what is advertising and put what is beautiful, what is art on display. We want to create a ray of light in people's lives where they have no choice but [to look at the artwork].”
In total, more than 1,000 advertising spaces have been replaced with prints, ranging from modern paintings to classics such as Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh.
In some communes the artwork was chosen by the authorities, in others it was decided communally, including in Naveil (Indre-et-Loire) where schoolchildren picked the paintings to be used.
A partnership with the Grand Palais-Réunion des musées nationaux has provided the copyright to use the paintings at a reduced price of €56 per piece of art used.
“What we learn is much richer than the basic cost,” said Nicolas Leudière, Mayor of Sablé-sur-Sarthe.
The project has gained the support of the Ministry of Culture, as well as the Villes de France association, with the hope that more communes will participate next winter, and the artwork will remain in place for longer.
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