Passenger Centers (Les Centres Passagers)
HD Video – color – stereo sound – 15 min 34 sec loop – 2021
Passenger Centers is reacting to the closure of the Parc Saint-Léger art center located on the outskirts of Nevers, in the Nièvre department in France. Following the sale of the building and the sharp reduction in its subsidies, the contemporary art center closes its doors in summer 2021 after having played a crucial role in the French contemporary art scene for the past twenty years. The video follows an actress playing the last resident of the art center. Oscillating between documentary and fiction-theater, the aim is to make the crucial role of art centers in rural areas visible and to question their institutional weaknesses. Through the organization of a workshop with local families, the resident tries to imagine and collectively build models of a new building that could house the art center. Through a dive into the archives of the art center and a monologue, Passenger Centers attempts to grasp the systemic difficulties of artistic institutions and local policies with regard to art.
The video was produced following a research residency at Parc Saint-Léger and was shown for the first time during a solo exhibition at the art center.
Exhibition & Screening
2022 Les Centres Passagers, screening, cur. FRAC Champagne-Ardenne, Cinéma Opéraims, Reims, France.
2021 Les Centres Passagers, solo exhibition, CAC Parc Saint-Léger, Pougues-les-Eaux, France.
Collection
2021 FRAC Champagne-Ardenne
Credits
Written, produced and directed by Virgile Fraisse
with the support of CAC Parc Saint-Léger
Cast: Nina Villanova
Director of Photography : Victor Zébo
Sound Engineer : Clément Gallice
Stage Manager : Amandine Arcelli
Decorator : Amandine Arcelli
with the participation and figuration of Anna Zachmann, Chantal Scotton, Franck Balland, Miguel Miceli et les participants du workshop Les Centres Passagers.
Voice-overs : Franck Balland, Léa Mérit, Sandra Patron, Céline Poulin, Chantal Scotton, Nina Villanova, Anna Zachmann
Sound and Video Editing : Virgile Fraisse
Music : Clémence Seilles
Color Grading : Baptiste Evrard
Mixing : Clément Gallice
Big Thanks to : Chantal Scotton, Thomas Crassous, Anna Zachmann, Magali Lesauvage, Sandra Patron, Céline Poulin, Léa Mérit, Franck Balland, Bernard Delosme.
Les Centres Passagers © Virgile Fraisse 2021