Around thirty cities are replacing pubs with art to “get around the ugly”

Monets or Van Goghs on advertising billboards: 32 cities in France are exhibiting photographs of master paintings in the streets and commercial areas until mid-December with the hope of “ bypass what is ugly ».

Launch in Saint-Dizier in 2021 in the wake of Covid, the operation « Beauty will save the world » thus extends its borders for the first time before a possible generalization in France in 2025, according to the wish expressed by the mayor of this commune of Haute-Marne, Quentin Brière, on Tuesday.
After Covid, « we had this slightly crazy but somewhat simple idea of ​​diverting what is ugly, an advertising billboard that is made to sell, in order to display beauty on it »explained the young city councilor during a press conference at the show of mayors and local authorities in Paris, saying he wanted « create gaps of light in people’s lives ».

For the 2024 edition, high-resolution photos of paintings by Ingres, Caillebotte and Renoir will adorn shop windows, construction site gates and advertising panels until December 8. In total, a thousand supports spread across the 32 partner cities, ranging from Aix-en Provence to Roanne or Béthune.

« We learn art when we get out of our car and drive our children to school. », « without having to go through the museum door », welcomes Didier Fusillier, president of the Réunion des musées nationaux-Grand Palais, who made high-resolution photos of the paintings available to the municipalities, drawn from a photographic collection of 1.5 million works. « We take culture everywhere and we know that this is how we bring people to museums »adds Yann Galut, mayor of Bourges, whose city has been designated European Capital of Culture in 2028.

For all these elected officials, this operation also has the merit of being almost painless for finances at a time of budgetary restrictions imposed by the State. The modest reproduction rights paid to potential rights holders are also paid collectively. « Budgetarily, it’s a zero-sum game », assures the mayor of Laval, Florian Bercault.