La Villa du Parc – Contemporary Art Center of National Interest in Annemasse has an out-of-La Villa summer program in Les Voirons Massif, a unique festival mixing contemporary art and nature.  

Les Voirons forms a massif, a mountain mass, in the French region around Geneva, overlooking Lake Geneva opposite Le Salève mountain near the city and the Jura on the other side of the lake. Les Voirons Massif also points to the majestic Mont-Blanc Massif. Harboring several protected animal species and diversified plant life, Les Voirons, now a Natura 2000 European site, has been inhabited since antiquity and abounds in stories and legends going back generations.

La Villa du Parc has invited artists, architects writers, performers, and specialists in a range of fields to create on-site works of art that echo and resonate with this exceptional natural setting. The artists have drawn their inspiration from the natural and cultural particularities of the massif, whether it’s the landscapes, legends, or uses of the mountain.

An art route featuring sculptures and sound works is waiting to be discovered the whole summer long during a walk near Le Signal des Voirons, the highest point of the massif at 1450 m. The walk should last around 90 minutes. A hut-artwork serves as a landmark and invites visitors to take in the extraordinary landscape while the featured works of art, forming a loop around this point, emphasize and revive the imagery associated with Les Voirons.

There is also a festival program of events along the mountain ridge route and in the surrounding villages scheduled for the opening weekend, 1 and 2 July  with Félicia Atkinson, Dominique Ernst, Jill Gasparina, Antonin Horquin, Bastien Mignot, and Ambroise Tièche; and for the closing weekend, 16 and 17 September (program to be announced).

An exciting series of related events and activities is also scheduled throughout the summer, including an astronomy night out with Stephen Rater, a walking talk with Thomas Dutriez, a botanical tour of discovery with Christine Fuchs, and performances and tastings by Perrine Bettin in collaboration with Chef Hubert Chanove.

Guided tours of the art route can be arranged by request. For further information, contact mediation@villaduparc.org

Please note: The art route is located in a mountain environment. Solid walking shoes or hiking boots are necessary. And don’t forget to bring along water. We kindly ask you to respect the massif and leave nothing behind you on site. On festival opening and closing days, trash bins will be provided to you at the hut (on other days of the festival, trash receptacles are located on the monastery parking lot at the start/finish of the art route).

There are three sound pieces that can be heard along the route. Remember to bring along an audio headset or earpieces to enjoy the sound art without disturbing the owls.