Parcours d'Art

At the end of 1960, with Valaurie's population down to just 200, the mayor decided to revive the village by inviting artists to stay. Some of them stayed. Le Cube welcomes artists in residence. Discover them in the streets!

From the Maison de la Tour (a venue for exhibitions and cultural events), head to the top of the village along the "rue des écoles".
A monumental stone sculpture by Alain Girel marks the entrance to "Place du Belvédère".
Look out for another sculpture by this artist on a low wall on the right, place your gaze through the eyecup in the stone and discover Mont Ventoux... ...
on a clear day only!
At the end of the square, look up on your left and you'll see Bernard Salomon's hammered tin cockerel gracing the first house. Just below, André Simian's wrought-iron Totem.
Then cross the ramparts via "lou trou du Pègou", a mysterious stone staircase. Follow the ramparts to the left...
A few meters further on, a high round courtyard is overlooked by a sculpted head by Alexandre Grandpierre.
Take the montée du Sculpteur, on your left, and discover the sculpted head and bas-relief by Michel Stievenart.
Continue along the calade, and you'll find the fantastical dragons by Valère Allibert and Michel Serrier.
Go back down Rue des Ecoles and join Place Coluche via Sente des Potiers, on the right as you round the bend. You'll find yourself in front of Valaurie artist François Julien's studio. You'll be intrigued by the staircase and wall corner, sculpted by a group of artists.
Opposite is Frédéric Eripret's tire column.
You'll discover the Cube, with its contemporary architecture of wood, glass and metal, a creative residence inaugurated in 201 I (Architect Luc Boulant).
In front, you can see the two steles by Valère Allibert. In the basin, the stone "Goutte d'Eau" by Valaurie artist Anne Campagne, whose work can be seen in François JuIIien's gallery-exhibition.
Take the montée des Artistes, passing another sculpture by Alain Girel, and then Isabelle Jacquet's painted wooden "Totem Soleil", recently acquired by the municipality.
Continue along Place du Puits, following the signs at the Info Point, towards the tree-lined parking lot at Place Longare: "Gemini", a sculpture by Francesco Rugiero known as "Sgorbia", donated by the Italian town twinned with Valaurie, graces the space.
Return to Place Lucian Duc, named after Valaurie's Provençal poet and félibre, with a bronze bust by Philippe Jamet Fournier.
Take the descending calade, lined with two marble works by Drôme artist Philippe Chitarrini, "Hybride ADN" white and "f'1onolithe noir" black.
Further down, marking the entrance to the village, the same artist's "Colonne Organique", a monumental sculpture in cut steel. These three works, conceived during a residency at Le Cube, were donated by the artist in 20 14.
Head for St-Martin church: above the door, a St-Martin on canvas by painter Hobi; on the wall, a ceramic bas-relief of St-Martin by Denise Picard.
In the choir, 2 stained-glass windows: the oculus at the top, attributed to Rosine Sicot, and "St-Martin et le mendiant" by René Margotton.
In front of the town hall, you can see "La Pierre de la mairie", created and donated by sculptor MicheI Stievenart in 1978.
Muriel Seauve, the artist who inaugurated the series of residencies at Le Cube in 2011, offers another way to discover Valaurie.
"Landscapes don't talk about themselves, they talk about the viewer. The viewer of the painting or of the portion of landscape cut out by the gaze, finds or posits a reading grid nourished by literature,
painting, maps or the imaginary".
Twelve panels feature texts by authors who have taken a philosophical, poetic, scientific or even political look at the landscape. Four panels are identical and located at the entrances to the old village; eight are different: it's up to you to find them on the squares along your journey.