5 exhibitions that will take you to the west

What to see on the banks of the Garonne ? From Goya’s drawings to the history of migrations of the living world, including the pharaonic treasures of ancient Egypt, here is five outings to museums and Art centers to be enjoyed without moderation.

Ces events are being held today and for several weeks, even months… Do you want more? Beaux Arts has thought of you: do not hesitate to cross the door of good galleries that we have already identified for you.

1. The new spring of young artists at the Frac

While winter is here, they are eagerly awaiting spring. Will there be a revival soon? THE Regional Contemporary Art Fund (Frac) of Nouvelle-Aquitaine gives voice to a thirty artists, duos and collectivescarrying the questions, doubts and struggles of today’s young generation. Climate crisis, ways of living and consuming, “globalization” and “archipelization” of society, technological upheavals, hyperconnections…: no subject is avoided in this journey designed in rhizome, where everything is linked according to the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari. Noted names in contemporary art, such as Julien Creuzet – who represented France at the last Venice Biennale – or the video artist Tarek Lakhrissi, embrace the political, ecological, sociological questions or cultural with panache. Let us add that to visit the Frac Nouvelle-Aquitaine MÉCA, the contribution is free (minimum 2 euros), free on the 1st^is Sunday of the month and for those under 18: what are the people asking for?

2. Drawings by Goya at the Museum of Fine Arts

Did you know that Francisco de Goya (1746–1828) spent the last four years of his life in Bordeaux? In the summer of 1824, the Spaniard settled in Bordeaux where he joined a whole colony of politicians, magistrates, artists and writers also condemned to political exile following the restoration of the autocratic monarchy of Ferdinand VII. In tribute to the Spanish masterfor the bicentenary of his arrival in the city, the Bordeaux Museum of Fine Arts brought together 20 works of his Graphic Arts Cabinet, including 15 prints. The hanging is also enriched with five prints from the album Homage to Goya of Odilon Redon, a great admirer, and of a portrait painted by André Brouillet in 1894 after the original made in 1826 by Vicente López and preserved in Madrid at the Prado Museum. That’s the beauty preamble to a more ambitious exhibitionwhich will be dedicated to the artist in 2028 for the bicentenary of his death at the age of 82.

3. The history of migrations dissected at the Museum and the Botanical Garden

Migrate to the banks of the Garonne! On both sides of the river, at the Bordeaux Museum and its Botanical Garden, the exhibition is held “Migrations of life” which will interest the whole family. Why migrate? To where? How often ? How do species (animal or plant) move? As we move, we follow the mythical flights of migratory birdsbut also the trajectory of other forms of life that we did not know were traveling, like the zooplankton. Each species has astonishing adaptation skills – behavioral, physiological or anatomical – to successfully complete the journey; humans included. Moving is essential for survival, and is part of evolution.

4. An Egypt of the most beautiful water at the Bassins des Lumières

After transporting Parisian visitors to the Atelier des Lumières last year, the magic of Egypt gagne from February 21 the city of Bordeaux! The new program of mapping video des Bassins des Lumières takes you to the heart of Egyptian civilization by revealing, in images and musichis marvelous masterpieces spanning three millennia. From the banks of the Nile to tombs concealing treasures, everything is there to take us on a journey. The idyllic stay in the land of the pharaohs continues in the second part with the program “The Orientalists. Ingres, Delacroix, Gérôme…” which gives pride of place to the exotic visions and fantasies of orientalist painters. A mirage between the steam of Turkish baths and lascivious women…

5. The fresh wind of contemporary art at the CAPC

Are you suffocating? Nothing serious… Come and have a bowl of art at the CAPC in Bordeaux! By summoning a thirty international contemporary artists which, definitely, do not lack air, the collective exhibition « Air de repos (Breathwork) » offers a breath of fresh air in a somewhat oppressive time. With the city’s contemporary art center serving as a “rest area” until the beginning of May, there is no risk of retinal overload: the route gives pride of place to installationsto ready-mades and to sound worksletting the sculptures breathe… To extend and complete this suspended moment, the art center is offering a publication in the form of two vinyl records and a booklet with texts from the curator and the artists in the exhibition.