France/Pamiers. The town and Crailsheim are also twinned for cultural reasons.

Published on 23/01/2025 | La rédaction

France

Last October, Pamiers welcomed young sportsmen from Crailsheim as part of the twinning between the two towns, and now it's the turn of culture to be exchanged. For the past few days, Robert Bénévant has been in Germany to exhibit his works.

The Pamiers delegation, comprising Françoise Pancaldi, town councillor in charge of twinning, Jean-Luc Lupieri, deputy minister for culture, and Sébastien Gonzalez, Director of Cultural Affairs, Heritage and Twinning, has returned from Germany after a fruitful exchange with the twin town of Crailsheim.

Bénévant myths: universal and timeless

On Friday January 17, they inaugurated the exhibition "L'alchimie des mythes" by artist Roger Bénévant, in the presence of numerous visitors and music. This event marks an important step in the strengthening of cultural links between the two towns. The work carried out to promote culture in Pamiers has been widely recognized in Germany, as has the importance of cultural links.

Jean-Luc Lupieri underlined this in his speech, which was warmly applauded on the other side of the Rhine. "We can't say that culture doesn't create links. It is the link. It is, improbably, a bridge... A bridge between peoples, minds, individuals... all generations combined. An indestructible bridge."

For his part, Sébastien Gonzalez shared his pride: "This exhibition is a source of pride for me as Director of Cultural Affairs, because it is the triumph of culture. It's the first exchange of its kind, two simultaneous exhibitions 1,200 km apart. Roger Bénévant and I are almost 60 years apart. But this difference is not [...] important [...], as long as we share the same ideal. And this ideal [...] is common to both of us. Roger Bénévant's work draws on stories that form our common foundation. The mythology he paints, though neither French nor German, has shaped the Europe in which we believe and which allows us to share this moment together. Law, morality, metaphysics, elevation and even spirituality come from there. Like myths, Roger speaks to us about ourselves. And that's why this exhibition works as well here as it did in Ariège two years ago."

The German hosts enthusiastically underlined the initiative and the pleasure they took in this week of joint work, which saw the emergence of a real collegiality. Madame Lafont was also warmly thanked for her involvement.

Pamiers is also honored to host an exhibition by Crailsheim-born artist Gerhard Franck, who pays tribute to his hometown through his work.

You can discover his work at the Carmel from January 20 to February 23.

Source: www.ladepeche.fr/


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