Thanks to the mines......
The preview will take place on Sunday 10th of August . The exhibition will last from August 16th till November 1st 2003 .
It will be open on Saturdays and Sundays from 14.30 till 18.00 hr and by appointment .
Thanks to the mines.....Until the 1960s , coal was very important in everyday life . Awhole economy existed , in various European countries , thanks to themines . In all those mining areas , there still remain some oldbuildings , winding gear and galleries. Easily recognisable throughtheir specific architecture which reflects the needs of the mines andremain a witness to the past . These towns and villages aroundthe mines are today lived in by the children and grand-children of theminers . The mines brought prosperity but at a cost .
Purpose of the exhibition
- to give a new point of view on the theme "Dans le Noir"
in all aspects
-To bring understanding of modern art through a familiar theme : the mines.
-Toraise awareness of the industrial heritage in a modern way , throughthe work of several European artists (from France, Belgium,Netherlands, England, Germany.
Location of the exhibition
Any location canbe used to welcome modern art , especially if the work of the artistsuses this location as part of their material .....This year , it willtake place at the Lampisterie in Brassac-les-Mines. The authenticbuilding where the miners received their lamps. n the lamp store, the miner was taking a token on a small andbecoming a number. For each number, there were three different tokens:
- a square one for the morning shift (from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.)
- a round one for the afternoon shift (from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.)
- a triangular one for the night shift (from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.)The miner would hang his token to the loading bench and take hislamp before going down. When he came back up, he would put his lampback under his token and go to the showers. Within the half-hourfollowing the last ascent, the chief lamplighter was checking whetherthere was a lamp under each token. If a lamp was missing, it meant thatthe miner had not come up.
The Artists
The artists invited to take part inthis exhibition, will be coming from European countries , all of whichhave their own coal mines. The association will invite severalartists and will make a selection from the projects sent in.
The criteria will be: quality and relevance to the theme.
We will look for multi-media artists.
Theartists will express their reaction to this particular environment ofthe mines, to create a piece of work/installation specific to the areaand put across a modern/new view of this heritage (darkness and lightas opposites, the history, the architecture etc.).Realization
Televisions and video recorders willbe set up in the Lampisterie. Video's will be shown on the large screen(each in turn)by a beamer. Installations in the different spaces of thebuilding.Publicity
Depending on the amount of subsidy , acatalogue and a CD-ROM will be produced. There will be information about the exhibition on our website. Information will bepublished in the newspapers. Posters and brochures will be sent to theTourist Offices.