Starting July 5, a new permanent exhibit at the Maison Jean Vilar in Avignon will explore the history of the world-renowned theater festival. Rare documents, models, and iconic manuscripts will highlight over 75 years of artistic creation.
A permanent exhibit dedicated to the history of the Avignon Festival, one of the world’s leading theater events, will open on July 5 at the Maison Jean Vilar, a space already devoted to the work of the festival’s founder.
“I’ve been hoping for this project for thirty years,” said Antoine de Baecque, the exhibit’s curator, during a press conference at the National Library of France (BnF) in Paris. The BnF is partnering with the Jean Vilar Association for the exhibit, titled The Keys to the Festival.
Photos, films, audio recordings, stage designs, costumes, original drawings, and legendary sets—nearly a thousand items from the archives of the Maison Jean Vilar and the BnF—will be on display to retrace the festival’s journey from its creation in 1947 to the present day.
Among the highlights revealed Monday: a costume from Peter Brook’s Mahabharata (1985), set models from Twelfth Night (1982) staged by Théâtre du Soleil, the manuscript of Olivier Py’s epic La Servante (1995), and the original script of Wajdi Mouawad’s Ciels (2009).
The heart of the exhibit will focus on the festival’s early years, particularly its first two decades, including Jean Vilar’s founding gesture—The Week of Art in Avignon—and the 1951 arrival of Gérard Philipe and the Théâtre National Populaire.
The second part of the exhibit will follow a thematic structure, tracing how the annual event has evolved: its artistic creation, expansion into dance and public spaces, the rise of the Off Festival, and its role as a reflection of the world—from the protests of 1968 to France’s 2024 legislative elections.
The exhibit’s scenography will creatively incorporate theatrical elements like lighting, sound, and tulle—the fine fabric widely used on stage—as subtle nods to the theater world.
“This exhibit is designed for a wider audience—not just experts,” explained Antoine de Baecque, who is also a historian of theater and cinema, and co-author of A History of the Avignon Festival (Gallimard, 2007). “It’s for people who know there’s a festival in Avignon every summer but don’t really know its story.”
He added that the exhibit is meant to be long-lasting, with potential updates over time thanks to the depth of the archives, such as rotating costume displays.
With AFP
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