Carrières des Lumières starts Matisse show on 9 October
Published on 10/11/2026 at 03:10 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWSKey points in brief
- Carrières des Lumières begins its Matisse programme in Les Baux-de-Provence on 9 October 2026.
- The immersive programme also includes a Frida Kahlo presentation and runs through 18 December 2026.
- The venue occupies a former stone quarry managed by Culturespaces since 2012.
Carrières des Lumières begins its new Matisse programme in Les Baux-de-Provence on 9 October 2026, introducing a new immersive presentation alongside Frida Kahlo. The venue’s programme change replaces Picasso after 8 October and brings a new artistic focus to the former quarry.
Matisse and Frida Kahlo begin at the quarry on 9 October
The main presentation, Matisse: The Symphony of Colours, starts on 9 October 2026. Culturespaces Studio produces the work, with artistic direction by Virginie Martin, staging and animation by Cutback, and musical supervision and mixing by Start-Rec, as stated by the operator.
The programme follows Henri Matisse through colour-led stages, including references to Blue Nudes, Fauvism and Luxe, Calm and Pleasure. It also includes Frida Kahlo: At the Very Heart as a shorter accompanying presentation. The operator says one visit includes both creations, while the official tourism programme lists them at the same venue from 9 October to 18 December 2026. the Matisse programme details and the 9 October programme date both place the change at the site.
The new programme uses a former stone quarry
The venue stands at the foot of Les Baux-de-Provence in the Alpilles, within the Val d’Enfer. The site was the Grands Fonds quarry, opened around 1800 to extract the fine-grained limestone used in local construction. A red mineral discovered there in 1821 later gave bauxite its name.
Stone extraction ended in 1935 as steel and concrete reduced demand for quarry materials. In 1959, Jean Cocteau filmed The Testament of Orpheus at the site. The town entrusted Culturespaces with management in 2012, when the quarry opened as a digital art centre with Gauguin, Van Gogh: Painters in Colour. Matisse’s colour-based presentation therefore returns the venue to a format built around the quarry’s rock walls, but with a different artist from the Picasso programme that ended on 8 October.
Visiting Carrières des Lumières: what travellers from Western Europe should know
- The Matisse programme begins at Carrières des Lumières on 9 October 2026 and is listed through 18 December 2026, with Frida Kahlo included as the accompanying presentation.
- The programme change means Picasso is no longer the main presentation after 8 October 2026; visitors inside the period will find Matisse and Frida Kahlo at the venue.
- The address is Route de Maillane, 13520 Les Baux-de-Provence, at the foot of the village in the Alpilles.
- The setting is a former stone quarry, with projections presented across its monumental rock surfaces rather than inside a conventional gallery building.
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Frequently asked questions about Carrières des Lumières
When does the Matisse programme take place at Carrières des Lumières?
The programme begins on 9 October 2026 and is listed through 18 December 2026. It is accompanied by a Frida Kahlo presentation.
What is Carrières des Lumières?
It is a digital art centre in a former stone quarry at the foot of Les Baux-de-Provence. Culturespaces has managed the site since 2012.
Where is Carrières des Lumières and how do you get there?
The venue is on Route de Maillane, 13520 Les Baux-de-Provence, in the Alpilles of southern France. It stands below the village in the Val d’Enfer.
