CAIRN (Informal Art Centre for Nature Research) focuses on (re)interpreting and reshaping the area that surrounds it, through the works of various artists such as Mark Dion, Delphine Gigoux-Martin, herman de vries, Andy Goldsworthy, Richard Nonas, etc.
Born in 2000 from the collaboration between the Musée Gassendi and the Haute Provence Geopark, the CAIRN Art Centre has two main aims: on the one hand, to offer site-specific exhibitions produced by artists in residence; on the other, to develop a collection of permanent contemporary and ephemeral artworks in an area of over 200,000 hectares of land, financed by the public sector or European programmes. The artworks in nature as well as those displayed in the temporary collection room often become an invitation to walk and wander in the mountains. Conceived in relation to their context, the artworks invite visitors to discover the natural environment and the history and heritage of the places, and also to meet local communities.
With a multidisciplinary approach connecting art, nature and the specific features of the area, CAIRN is a centre for creative work and experimentation, which produces and disseminates contemporary art in the rural area.
CAIRN Art Centre is part of the d.c.a network (French association for contemporary art centres development), ELAN (European Landart Network) and BOTOX(S) (Contemporary Art network in the French Alps and Riviera)
CAIRN Art Centre’s permanent institutional partners are: DRAC (Regional Department of Cultural Affairs), the Culture and Communication Ministry, PACA Regional Council, the Alpes de Haute-Provence Department Council, the City of Digne-les-Bains, and the Haute-Provence Geopark.