Le Grand Café—Contemporary Art Centre

Le Grand Café is a contemporary art centre in Saint-Nazaire, a town in western France. Situated at the junction of the Atlantic Ocean with the Loire Estuary, Le Grand Café has developed an international project closely articulated with Saint-Nazaire itself. Saint-Nazaire is a port town modelled by post-war reconstruction and industry, and has shown itself to be a fertile ground for artistic experimentation that explores the area’s dynamics and mutations.

The programme at Le Grand Café favours solo exhibitions, sometimes created as the outcome of a residency. These exhibitions are an opportunity to work on the production of new artworks in which the artist’s personal interests intersect with their experience of the site or the town.

Le Grand Café also runs an offsite programme with permanent or temporary works in the public space and a regular presentation of exhibitions at the LiFE, an atypical site in the former submarine base in Saint-Nazaire.

The artistic and cultural project of Le Grand Café is organised around several objectives: in particular supporting creation and experimentation as well as promoting and introducing audiences to contemporary art through a range of activities and a differentiated approach to welcoming the public.