Frac des Pays de la Loire

We’re entering our forties with a new “youth” and a lot of dynamism!

Interview with Claire Staebler, Director of the Frac des Pays de la Loire.

– What do you see as the new challenges facing the Frac as it approaches its 40th anniversary? What direction would you like to give it?

“Thanks to the opening of the Frac branch on the île de Nantes in 2021, we’re approaching our fortieth birthday with a new “youth” and a lot of dynamism! This new bi-site configuration gives a real boost to the history of the Frac des Pays de la Loire, which I’ve been exploring and discovering every day since I arrived last spring! With the team, we now want to develop programs that are both parallel and coherent with the specificities of each site, and at the same time link them through cross-disciplinary proposals, as we are currently doing with the work of Lina Lapelytè, presented in Nantes and exceptionally in Carquefou in January 2023.”

– What makes your Frac unique? What, in your opinion, are its greatest assets, and how would you like to promote them?

“There are several singularities at the Frac des Pays de la Loire, as there are for every Frac, but in our DNA the question of artists’ residency workshops is well inscribed and participates in the history of our Frac. A site dedicated to residencies, with studios, accommodation and shared spaces, is activated through the Ateliers Internationaux, which have been held annually since 1984! Secondly, the architectural quality of the two sites is also a great opportunity and a source of inspiration for us and for the artists I wish to promote, so as to also mobilize audiences for a different experience of art.”

– How do you see the Frac’s relationship with its local area? What areas would you like to develop?

“The Frac des Pays de la Loire has a long history of forging links with numerous regional partners! Its nomadic history of the first twenty years has endured in the circulation of the collection and original proposals in a wide variety of contexts, right up to the recent example of the MuMO, which is currently circulating in the region’s five départements, meeting audiences that are rather far removed from the usual activities. I’d like to continue imagining new projects, whether they’re agile or more rooted in places and stories. To this end, my team, with its in-depth knowledge of the field and the players involved, is a great help.”

– What specific features of the collection would you like to highlight?

“The presence of the collection is a real opportunity and the starting point for many of the projects we are developing, such as “Trilogie de Cendres”, a three-part exhibition curated by Marion Duquerroy and Thomas Fort based on the collection with guest productions and artists, which ran from April to December 2022. In 2023, we are planning a project that will explore the figure of Gina Pane in the light of contemporary practices. In addition, the technical committee I’ve set up is tasked with pursuing an ambitious acquisition policy in line with the history of the collection and the major axes already developed.”

– What new audiences would you like to attract? What strategies and actions would you like to develop?

“The question of the public remains a daily one for us! We’ve started up exchanges with the Théâtre de La Fleuriaye in Carquefou and are “associated venues” for the Voyage à Nantes and the Voyage en Hiver! I’m a great believer in local audiences: if the Frac’s neighbors come to see us, I think the others will follow!