This year Bordeaux launched a fascinating cultural program named Liberté. As the name suggests, many of the exhibitions inaugurated in the last few weeks have the common theme of Freedom. In this article, I decided to gather a list of the best exhibitions being presented in Bordeaux this summer. The exhibitions are very diverse, from street art to design and contemporary art. I must say that this summer the cultural institutions in Bordeaux have done a great job bringing interesting and diverse exhibitions to the city. So here we go with the list of the best art exhibitions in Bordeaux this summer (2019).
Institut Bernard Magrez – Two street art exhibitions
May 28 – September 1st and July 5 – October 6
Two amazing street art exhibitions are going to be presented at the Institut Bernard Magrez throughout the summer. The first one (from May 28 to September 1st) is called Instincts, an exhibition by Mika which is one of Bordeaux’s most prominent street artists. The other one (July 5 – October 6) is an exhibition by one of the most famous street artists in the world, Seth (Julien Mallard) who also happens to be French. For more details click here.
Address: 16 Rue de Tivoli, 33000 Bordeaux
Galerie des beaux arts – La passion de la liberté. Des Lumières au romantisme
June 20 – October 13
For those looking for classic arts in Bordeaux, there are some exciting news this summer. Le Musée des Beaux-Arts and le musée des Arts décoratifs et du Design are presenting a collection from le Musée du Louvre. This exhibition is marking an unprecedented partnership between Bordeaux and the prestigious art institution. ‘La passion de la liberté – Des Lumières au romantisme’ exhibitions hosting works of art from different departments in the Louvre museum, bringing together more than one hundred works – paintings, sculptures and graphic works – created mainly during the 18th and 19th centuries. The exhibition revolves around the concept of Freedom (liberté) which is the theme of all the cultural events in Bordeaux this summer. The idea is to make the public reflect on philosophical, political, ideological, social and economic aspects of freedom through famous works of art. The exhibition will be presented at the Galerie des Beaux-Arts. For more details click here.
Address: Place du Colonel Raynal – 33000 Bordeaux
Muséum de Bordeaux – Rire!
June 24 – January 26, 2020
According to scientific research, we laugh 18 times a day on average. Laughter, however, is not unique to us human beings, different animal species also have different expressions of laughter is their language. The new and super fun exhibition at the natural history museum in Bordeaux offers different activities that provoke laughter. It’s a very interactive and kids friendly exhibition that includes videos, sounds, games, and painting. If you haven’t visited this museum yet, you definitely should! For more details click here.
Address: 5 Place Bardineau, 33000 Bordeaux (in Jadin public)
Musée d’Aquitaine– La déferlante surf
June 19, 2019 – January 5, 2020
The Atlantique coasts of the south-west of France are a popular destination for surfers these days and it looks like this sport has always been here. But did you know that surfing was actually introduced to Europe through our region in the 50s? Thus it only makes sense that Musée d’Aquitaine, which explores the history of the region, will also explore the surfing culture in Aquitaine. The new exhibition, La déferlante surf, deals with different aspects of surfing from the sport itself to its economic and environmental influences. Among others, the items presented include videos, sounds, different traditional objects, images from different beaches and more. For more details click here.
Address: 20 Cours Pasteur, 33000 Bordeaux
Musée des Arts décoratifs et du Design (Madd) – Memphis – Plastic Field
June 22 – January 5, 2020
Memphis is a movement founded in 1981 by Ettore Sottsass, an Italian architect and designer, which united many young artists who dreamed of shattering the codes of modernism and rationalism. The works of this movement had a great effect on the European design landscape in the past three decades. It has radically changed the language of shapes and colors, focusing on the presence of the object rather than its functionality. This summer the geometric shapes and bright colors of the movement are being hosted by the Madd museum in Bordeaux. For more details click here.
Address: 39 Rue Bouffard, 33000 Bordeaux
le Musée Mer Marine – Sempé en liberté
May 29 – October 6
For its second exhibition, le Musée Mer Marine is hosting about 300 works of the famous cartoonist, Jean-Jacques Sempé who was born in Pessac. Sempé is mostly known for its illustrations in Frech classical kids book series Petit Nicolas and from publications in big magazines like the New Yorker and Paris Match. The sea museum finally opened its doors on June 21, so now you can go see the permanent exhibition as well. See more details here.
Address: 89 Rue des Étrangers, 33300 Bordeaux
Rivages et Vertigo Sea – a new exhibition
June 20 – September 22
The Base sous-marine is hosting a new and intriguing exhibition this summer. It is, in fact, a combination of two exhibitions addressing the themes of sea and shore. Rivages is a photography exhibition by the artist Harry Gruyaert and Vertigo Sea is a video installation by the director John Akomfrah. For more information about the exhibition click here.
Address: Boulevard Alfred Daney, 33000 Bordeaux, France
Frac – Il est une fois dans l’Ouest
June 29 – November 9
Frac is a cultural institution with a mission to promote contemporary art in Nouvelle Aquitaine. After almost two years of hiatus, it finally opened its doors to the public in the new MECA building. The new exhibition ‘Il est une fois dans l’Ouest’ hosts 15 artistic projects of artists and art curators who are originally from or operate in Nouvelle Aquitaine. I didn’t find all the art installations very interesting but many of them were very good and it was great to discover the artists of the region and the new exhibition space. For more details click here.
Address: 54 Quai de Paludate, 33800 Bordeaux
That’s it my art-loving friends! I’m still exploring the art in the region so with time I’ll add more exhibitions to the list. Meanwhile, you can also check out the list of events taking place in July in Bordeaux. Also if you’re here during the weekend check out my weekend list.
Just to remind you that I often update about events and exhibition on my facebook/Instagram accounts so be sure to follow! Also, join my newsletter where I share a lot of exclusive info about Bordeaux and the region – sign up here.
