Carrières des Lumières begins Matisse programme on 9 October
Published on 10/04/2026 at 08:19 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Carrières des Lumières will begin its Matisse programme in Les Baux-de-Provence on 9 October 2026, replacing the Picasso presentation at the immersive art venue. The operator will close the site on the morning of 8 October while the new exhibition is installed.
Carrières des Lumières changes programme on 9 October
The new presentation is titled Matisse: A Symphony of Colours. The operator describes it as an immersive experience devoted to Henri Matisse, with a visual route organised around changing colour stages.
The programme includes references to Blue Nudes, the Fauvist movement and Luxe, Calm and Pleasure. It also brings the colours of the artist’s stained-glass work for the Chapel of the Rosary into the projection sequence. Frida Kahlo: In the Heart remains available as the second creation in the same visit, according to the Matisse exhibition page.
The change has a direct effect on access. The operator says the venue will be exceptionally closed on Thursday 8 October until 12.30pm because of the installation, before the Matisse exhibition begins on 9 October. The current programme notice places both the closure and the new start date at the Les Baux-de-Provence site.
The new exhibition uses the quarry as its canvas
The venue occupies former limestone workings at the foot of Les Baux-de-Provence, in the Alpilles and the Val d’Enfer. The quarry known as Les Grands Fonds opened around 1800 for stone extraction and closed in 1935 as steel and concrete reduced demand for building stone.
Its later cultural role developed through sound and light projects, with the large rock walls used as projection surfaces. Culturespaces took over management in 2012, when the site opened as a digital art centre with Gauguin and Van Gogh. The history of the quarry records an annual immersive digital exhibition devoted to a major artist since that opening.
That history explains the practical significance of the October change: visitors arriving after the installation will encounter Matisse projections in a space originally cut for building stone, rather than the Picasso programme shown earlier in 2026.
Visiting Carrières des Lumières: what travellers from Western Europe should know
- The Matisse programme begins on 9 October 2026 at Carrières des Lumières, Route de Maillane, Les Baux-de-Provence.
- The venue is closed on the morning of 8 October 2026 until 12.30pm for installation work; the new exhibition starts the following day.
- The site stands at the foot of Les Baux-de-Provence in the Alpilles, in the former Val d’Enfer limestone quarry.
- The visit takes place among large quarry walls, pillars and floors used as projection surfaces, so the setting is an underground-style mineral venue rather than a conventional gallery.
- French is the official language in France and the national currency is the euro.
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Frequently asked questions about Carrières des Lumières
When does the Matisse programme take place at Carrières des Lumières?
It begins on 9 October 2026 at the venue in Les Baux-de-Provence. The operator’s current programme also lists Frida Kahlo as the second creation.
What changes at Carrières des Lumières on 8 October 2026?
The site is exceptionally closed on the morning of 8 October 2026 until 12.30pm for installation work connected with the Matisse exhibition.
Where is Carrières des Lumières and what is it?
It is a former limestone quarry at the foot of Les Baux-de-Provence in the Alpilles. Since 2012, the site has presented immersive digital exhibitions using the quarry walls as projection surfaces.
