If you are heading to France don't miss the Heritage Festival in Le Mans
Calligraphy Demonstration
Monday, 17th February 2014
If you are thinking of visiting France this Spring don't miss the Heritage Festival in Le Mans. Running over the weekend of 5 to 6 of April, this will feature demonstrations and workshops on the restoration of antiques and handy crafts.
THE DUTY OF RESTORATION
Well welcoming the restorers in our event, is both a moral conviction and recognition to those precious professionals who weave for us the indispensable link with a cultural heritage that would disappear without them.
Our society is proud to have men and women who have developed talents, who chose to devote it to the art of restoration. Here, it is not question of copies or basic imitations, but it is about the life they are able to give back into an art piece to offer a future. Art of restoration is not from the past: on the contrary, it saves of the past to give us, to give to the next generations, the opportunity to admire and understand those renovated artworks.
The hand that shapes a new artwork creates it from its own universe, in relation with its own sensibility. Artists and craftsmen are obviously involved in that way to original creation. The one who restores have to realize a really hard job: the artwork has been created many years before. He has to respect its soul, to connect with its spirit and to adapt his technique to integrate into an artistic plan developed by another one.
We can imagine that beyond many years, sometimes centuries, the creator�s intention and the restorer�s sensibility will join together, weaving in this way a connivance between the different eras. This link that connects centuries is probably one of our major successes in Les Journées Mans�Art.
In and around our magnificent cathedral, monumental ship realized by the medieval builders, the restorers will present their know-how. That will give to their arts a supplementary dimension, on their way of creativity, excellence that captivates the public in search of quality. This place also brings a spiritual dimension (not obligatory in a religious way) and metaphysical. There, a community unites artists and Craftsmen across the centuries to contribute to a global work that will probably be the most important testimonies about our civilizations.
The Saint-Vincent abbey welcomes the specialized booksellers in old books. That is another demonstration of the coherent use we want for our patrimony. There is an evident union between the place and the objects. Each one shows in advantage the other one for the beauty of the rooms (17th century) and the exceptional nature of the books collections presented to the visitors.
The local conviviality of our territory completes the programme in a temporary village located on the Dubois square. This neuralgic centre in the old city will get together the wine growers from the Loire Valley and a selection of regional tourist destinations: the perfect place to enjoy some delicatessen after a fascinating walk inside this universe of art and beauty.
