Standing in front of these empty premises every morning was the “click” for these two young residents of the Saint Charles district. “We ended up finding the owner’s contact details. The place is rented for several months a year. But the rest of the time, it’s empty. »And that’s good. Romane Peychet and Quentin Houssaye had been thinking for several months about finding places…
Standing in front of these empty premises every morning was the “click” for these two young residents of the Saint Charles district. “We ended up finding the owner’s contact details. The place is rented for several months a year. But the rest of the time, it’s empty. »And that’s good. Romane Peychet and Quentin Houssaye had been thinking for several months about finding places to organize artistic exhibitions.
He is a photographer – specializing in superimposing images, just that – she is an illustrator. “As artists, we tend to wait for someone to come and take us by the hand to expose us. On the coast, there are not many curation collectives,” explains the couple. So to get moving, meet other artists from the region and of course to exhibit, the two twenty-somethings created Espaces Biarritz. A very young network with already well-found DNA.
A chapel, a shed, a kitchen….
Abandoned offices, closed businesses, unoccupied apartments or even industrial wastelands… the palette is varied. And it makes you want it because it is so intriguing. The collective’s exhibitions will be nomadic and always organized in stationary locations. “It’s the places that we manage to find that will set the pace,” assures Romane Peychet. An ambitious but exciting challenge, Espaces Biarritz has already found its first premises at 8 rue Pellot, in the city center. Five artists, five exhibitions and five openings, this first act is planned from Friday May 17 (read elsewhere).
If these two are obviously impatient to officially launch their first exhibition in an unoccupied place, the rest, too, promises to surprise. “For me, the dream would be a chapel,” says the young photographer. “For me, it would have been Milady’s claws. A large space where we can exhibit at the same time,” adds the illustrator who would have seen artistic performances and prints in disproportionate formats there. Romane Peychet and Quentin Houssaye repeat it: “Even less big, it’s great. An empty apartment, you can already imagine things. It’s part of artistic research. »
Everything is possible
“It’s quite difficult to reach agreements. Most often, it is the town halls that control. It must also depend on the locations and rental rates. » Empty and unoccupied – but not always easy to obtain – all the places that make the collective dream give them so many ideas for artists to exhibit. “It’s important to be able to exhibit artists from all backgrounds. We want it to be intergenerational and multidisciplinary. » First act therefore at 8 rue Pellot, and for the moment, all the boxes are filled.
From May 17
With “Mentawaii Fast”, (photo) Quentin Houssaye will be the first to exhibit from May 17 to 24. He will be followed by Stan Denis with “Yin Yang Research” (illustration/tattoo) from May 24 to 30 and Nicolas Lahoun from May 31 to June 6 with his “Washi Print” series (photo). From June 7 to 13, Jules Lepecheux, student at the Beaux-Arts de Bayonne, will present his exhibition “Norcam Noissimed” (sculpture/painting). The first edition will end with Matthias Melon and his work “Amor Açores” (photo), from June 14 to 17. Always in the same place: at 8 rue Pellot in Biarritz.