A unique model in France, Le Parvis centre d’art contemporain has the dual distinction of being part of a national stage and located in a shopping centre on the outskirts of Tarbes. Which makes it one of the most unusual venues in France!

A veritable cultural ecosystem dedicated to the art of its time, Le Parvis stages 4 solo and group exhibitions a year by emerging and established national and international artists, which it combines with a sustained programme of conferences and meetings, as well as various projects in the department (exhibitions and artists’ residencies).

In the nearly 50 years of its existence (founded in 1974), Le Parvis has always strongly supported artistic research, the production of works and exhibitions, the mediation of contemporary art, and its cultural and publishing policies. Its work, which is developed within the framework of a public interest project, takes into account recent developments in contemporary creative issues as well as the historical, social and cultural nature of its location.

Le Parvis project offers forward-looking programming that focuses on themes and artists involved in social and environmental issues, as well as new forms of imagination and knowledge that play a full part in renewing contemporary poetics and aesthetics. Otherness, ecology, the living and the non-living, and the hybridisation of artistic disciplines are just some of the fields explored by the art centre, thanks to the visions of the world that the artists anticipate.

Le Parvis is a major player in the Occitanie region, with a national reach, and places great emphasis on human relations. Its principle is to develop and share knowledge and cultures, and to support the emancipatory values of art, so that everyone becomes a player, a user of the art centre and, more broadly, of a shared life enlightened by the art of our time.

Director : Magali Gentet