An unprecedented collective initiative in the Hauts-de-France region, in Dunkirk: a new triennial of art and design in Europe. Marked by a multidisciplinary approach, it invites us to reflect on the past, present, and future of our relationship with industry through the eyes of artists, engineers, designers, graphic designers, and architects.

Launched in Dunkirk in 2019, the Triennale Art & Industrie is an unprecedented collective initiative jointly led by two artistic institutions: the Fonds régional d’art contemporain Grand Large — Hauts-de-France (FRAC) and the Lieu d’Art et Action Contemporaine — Musée de France (LAAC), and their respective directors, Keren Detton and Sophie Warlop.

It was born in a city – Dunkirk – and a region – Hauts-de-France – whose history is intrinsically linked to industrial dynamics. With its first edition titled “GIGANTISM,” the Triennale Art & Industrie had a strong impact and resonance, even reaching its European neighbors – through the analysis of the convergences between these two worlds, art and industry, sources of exciting frictions and contradictions – enriching and shedding light on the debate on future challenges.

In 2023, the second edition “Chaleur humaine“, continued its artistic and poetic exploration of the encounters between art and industry, and its reflection on their social, economic, and ecological stakes. The Triennale aims to become a key event in France and Europe.

CHALEUR HUMAINE — TRIENNALE ART & INDUSTRIE

The 2023 edition revisited the unique paths of 20^th and 21^st-century artists, bridging the gap between creation and ecology and highlighting a territory characterized by its complex industrial and port activities, thus creating synergies between local and regional institutions and stakeholders.

The artworks created a journey spread across the exhibition spaces of the Frac Grand Large — Hauts-de-France, the LAAC (Musée de France), the city of Dunkirk, the industrial wasteland of Halle AP2, and public spaces. They bore witness to and reflected the energy-related events from 1972 to the present day and their various impacts, whether positive, negative, or neutral, on humanity and living beings, behaviors and emotions, as well as the present and the future.

The theme of this edition of the Triennial was energy. It encompassed physical dimensions (extraction and transformation of fossil or renewable resources in motion, electromagnetic radiation, and heat), socio-economic aspects (industry, capital production, social division of labor, consumption), human and non-human factors (human and animal bodies as engines of productivity, fatigue, resistance, robotization, artificial intelligence), and ecological considerations (anthropogenic landscapes and ecosystems, resource depletion, waste, pollution, extinction, and nature as a source of life, knowledge, and a model for democracy).

For this second edition, the Frac and the LAAC built partnerships with the Musée national d’art Moderne – Centre Pompidou and the Centre national des arts plastiques (Cnap), two national public institutions that have opened their exceptional collections. In parallel, new productions were presented, including around ten works specifically created for public spaces.

A rich and dynamic cultural program was developed prior to the Triennial in partnership with La Halle aux sucres – Living Space for Sustainable Cities, to raise awareness among the inhabitants of Dunkirk about the ecological challenges of the Triennial.

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GIGANTISME — ART & INDUSTRIE :
AN EXTRAORDINARY FIRST EDITION

The very first Triennale, entitled GIGANTISME — ART & INDUSTRIE, was organised in 2019 by the Frac Grand Large and the LAAC – Musée de France, the two institutions that constitute the Pôle Art Contemporain de Dunkerque, with the support of the DRAC Hauts-de-France, the Région Hauts-de-France and the Communauté Urbaine de Dunkerque.

It was able to count on the commitment of the CCI Littoral-Dunkerque and the Association L’Art contemporain with the aid of over forty sponsors, and on the partnership established with the Centre National des Arts Plastiques.

GIGANTISME — ART & INDUSTRIE brought together masterpieces of post-war art and design, while at the same time forging regional associative, educational and economic links.

It provided an opportunity to share a lively look at the history of art from the post-war period to the present day, in connection with economic and industrial development, in a context of transition with players who are heavily involved.

With the two guest curators, Géraldine Gourbe and Gregory Lang, and in partnership with the LAAC, the Triennale brought together more than 327 works, 900 boats spread over Dunkirk’s five marinas, 70 events and encounters with artists, 12 labelled regional projects, and a programme of 20 or so films by artists and filmmakers, screened in Dunkirk and Amiens.

It also featured 10 monumental installations that took their place in the public space and in the hearts of the people of Dunkirk, thanks to the support and commitment of more than 40 sponsors who rose to meet the technical challenges presented (550 square metres of paint on the Kursaal for Maya Hayuk, 48 tonnes of metal for Bernar Venet, two gigantic vats on the industrial port for Tania Mouraud, etc.).

The Triennale has thus enabled us to get closer to the inhabitants and to renew the way we look at this territory. For the first edition, the Triennale put the accent on a historical approach, blending sociological and cultural sources. This was a bold and relevant choice given the comments from visitors who had come from all over the world.

THE ARTISTS

L’Atelier A, Carla ACCARDI, Céline AHOND, Eero AARNIO, Steve ABRAHAM & Nicolas MESSAGER, Janine ABRAHAM & Dirk Jan ROI, ADO, ARMAN, John. M ARMLEDER, Bernard AUBERTIN, Martin BARRÉ, Marion BARUCH, Thomas BAYRLE, Dorothée BECKER, Jean-Daniel BERCLAZ, Max BILL, André BLOC, Pierrette BLOCH, Heidi et Carl BUCHER, Angela BULLOCH, Michel BUFFET, Carlos BUNGA, Daniel BUREN, Victor BURGIN, Hera BÜYÜKTAŞCIYAN, Robert BREER, Nathalie BREVET_Hughes ROCHETTE, Louis CANE, René-Jean CAILLETTE, Antonio CALDERARA, Livio CASTIGLIONI, Philippe CAZAL, André CAZENAVE, CÉSAR, Helen CHADWICK, Andreas CHRISTEN, CHRISTO, Geneviève CLAISSE, Joe COLOMBO, Gilles CONAN, Claude COURTECUISSE, François DALLEGRET, DADAMAINO, DECTOR & DUPUY, Pauline DELWAULLE, Simona DENICOLAI & Ivo PROVOOST, Gérard DESCHAMPS, Francis DUESÉPULCHRE, Jean DEWASNE, Noël DOLLA, Gérard DUCHÊNE, Lili DUJOURIE, Jean DUPUY, Erró, Jean-Claude FARHI, Yolande FIÈVRE, FOIN©, Ruth FRANCKEN, Lars FREDRIKSON, Yona FRIEDMAN, Christian GERMANAZ, Mark GEFFRIAUD, Piero GILARDI, Liam GILLICK, Dominique GILLIOT, Patrick GINGEMBRE, Tony GRAND, Laurent GRASSO, GRUPPO STRUM, Brion GYSIN, Raymond HAINS, Simon HANTAÏ, Hans HARTUNG, Maya HAYUK, Bernard HEIDSIECK, Jan HENDERIKSE, Auguste HERBIN, Pal HORVATH, Athina IOANNOU, Isidore ISOU, Christian JACCARD, Shirley JAFFE, Michel JOURNIAC, Donald JUDD, Kosta KARAHALIOS, William KLEIN, Yves KLEIN, Piotr KOWALSKI, Tetsumi KUDO, Nicola L, Roger LANDAULT, André LANDSKOY, Bertrand LAVIER, Walter LEBLANC, Donovan LE COADOU, Rainier LERICOLAIS, Sol LEWITT, Ludovic LINARD, Ana LUPAS, Heinz MACK, Robert MALAVAL, Piero MANZONI, Mathieu MATÉGOT, MATTA, Guy MEES, Pierre MERCIER, Joan MIRÓ, Anita MOLINERO, Vera MOLNAR, Jacques MONORY, François MORELLET, Flora MOSCOVICI, Charlotte MOTH, Joseph MOTTE, Serge MOUILLE, Nicolas MOULIN, Tania MOURAUD, Hans-Walter MÜLLER, Matt MULLICAN, Aurélie NEMOURS, Dennis OPPENHEIM, Bernard PAGÈS, Verner PANTON, Claudio PARMIGGIANI, Pierre PAULIN, Henk PEETERS, Alexandre PERIGOT, Gaetano PESCE, Otto PIENE, Giancarlo PIRETTI, Gabriel POMERAND, Daniel POMMEREULLE, Charlotte POSENENSKE, Julien PRÉVIEUX, Danielle QUARANTE, Man RAY, Jean-Pierre RAYNAUD, Delphine REIST, Alain RICHARD, Mika ROTTENBERG, Guy ROTTIER, Guy de ROUGEMONT, Claude RUTAULT, Roland SABATIER, Niki de SAINT PHALLE, Jean-Michel SANEJOUAND, Patrick SAYTOUR, Antonio SCACCABAROZZI, Nicolas SCHÖFFER, Jan SCHOONHOVEN, Daniel SPOERRI, Peter STÄMPFLI, STUDIO 65, SUPERSTUDIO, TAKIS, Roger TALLON, Hervé TÉLÉMAQUE, Jean TINGUELY, Niele TORONI, Tatiana TROUVÉ, Richard TUTTLE, UNGLEE, Günther UECKER, Jan VAN DEN ABBEEL, Paul VAN HOEYDONCK, Victor VASARELY, Bernar VENET, Jef VERHEYEN, Claude VIALLAT, Jacques VILLEGLÉ, Gerhart VON GRAEVENIT, Jean WIDMER, Gil Joseph WOLMAN