Author: nantes.exchange

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Luckily the warm dry weather continued into the afternoon when we visited the 22 outdoor galleries showing over 1,000 photographs in the town of La Gacilly.

Created in 2004 from an idea by Yves Rocher then Mayor of L a Gacilly , the 4 month photo exposition has become Europe’s largest open-air photography festival and attracts 300,000 visitors.

Photographs are displayed on houses, in streets, in courtyards and in a large empty garage.

Each year the festival has focussed on a different nation or region. This year the spotlight is on Great Britain under its in So British headline.

The Festival since it started has been committed to portraying environmental and social issues with the aim of raising awareness and changing attitudes.

Black and white photos as well as coloured photos are displayed.

Ten renowned British photographers feature in the photo exposition. My favourite work by a British photographer was the retrospective work of Don McCullin.His photographs feature deprived neighbourhoods of London and the war zones of Vietnam, Lebanon and Biafra. His work captures both the horror of war as well as human dignity.

Another specific set of photographs I admired were those depicting elegant buildings which had been abandoned and nature was taking possession of these. The photographer advised some buildings were being restored and it would I felt have been good to see photos of the finalised restoration but perhaps that is the photographer’s next project!

The exposition also focussed on the effects climate change was having on wildlife. Many photographs powerfully captured wildlife venturing into towns and cities close to people’s homes trying to find food.

September 2025

Visit to view the 18th century architecture and the Slavery Memorial in Nantes in September 2025 by Steve O’Regan

One of the visits made this year was to the “Memorial de L’Abolition de L’Esclavage”. The visit was made via one of the most interesting sites of Old Nantes, L’Île Feydeau. There was a good reason why this was done and how the two sites are connected was explained.

Our group met just to the north of the Ile Feydeau in the Place Bouffay. Our guide was a specialist in architecture who started by saying how the 18th century was when many of the famous squares and buildings were constructed, during a period when Nantes was very successful. This was due to its position on the west coast where trade to the Americas and Africa was important for the wealth of the town. This included the slave trade and is the link with the Ile Feydeau. The guide noted how the 18th century buildings were very ordered and uniform during this classical period. Clarity and form were important and there was no place for extravagance or excessive variety.

We crossed the road and the tram track, formerly the river bed. The Ile Feydeau only stopped being an island in the 1920s-40s when the surrounding river was filled in. Entering the Ile it is clearly seen how classical and symmetrical the central part is. Nowadays there are many restaurants and cafes and the atmosphere of the Ile is quite distinct. Deliveries to these establishments can make the area quite noisy due to the narrow cobblestone streets.

The guide gave us the history of the lotissements (parcels) of land which had been set up by an architect called Feydeau in 1720. Because of the unstable soil conditions, development was slow and didn’t really take off until the 1750s. Some of the allocated parcels of land were sold on and some enterprising developers bought adjacent plots to build spacious apartments with a central courtyard. We went into one of these courtyards and even though we were caught in a short lived torrential shower we appreciated the classical lines of the buildings and it was hard to imagine just how near we were to the bustling heart of Modern Nantes.

During this Ile Feydeau experience the guide pointed out the masques or mascarons, faces sculpted above the doors of characters either mythical or possibly faces of people of the time. Many of the luxury homes of the 18th century were owned by shipowners who profited from the slave trade. We exited the Ile on the south side where there is a long green strip which gives a good idea of where the river used to flow. We looked at a few more houses which had very impressive mascarons. It seems that Nantes is famous for these 18th century sculptures. We then crossed back to the Old Bourse, a splendid colonnaded building from the end of the 18th century, which was restored after bomb damage during World War II. It is now the FNAC bookshop.

We then proceeded from the Allee de la Bourse onto the Quai de la Fosse, where the Memorial is situated. At the far end of the Quai is where the naval shipyards used to be. These shipyards built many of the slave trade ships, the names of which are set into the path leading to the Memorial. None of the names, some of which are quite charming, give a clue about the cargoes they contained. The Memorial’s entrance is at the far end of a large promenade about 100 metres long. When we arrived at the entrance the guide gave a few final comments and then left us. The Memorial is the length of the promenade underground and deals with the global slave trade and its abolition, not just Nantes or France or Europe. Slavery was something that all societies practised. The exhibition is very well done and mainly bilingual (French/English). Although we were in a group, members worked their way individually through the exhibition and when we came to the exit, one by one, that was the end of the visit. Ideally one would return on one’s own to give the exhibition the time it deserves.

On Monday morning we set off from Nantes at 09:15 for a day in Rennes. We arrived late morning and after lunch there was a guided visit around the centre of Rennes to see examples of the mosaics of the Odorico family. They were a family of artists working in mosaics from the end of the 19th to the middle of the 20th century. There were 2 generations with 2 brothers in each generation, named Isidore and Vincent. The older generation’s work resembles “Art Nouveau”, the younger generation’s is more akin to “Art Deco”, very popular during the interwar period.

We all met up in the Place Ste Anne and were split into two groups – one with a French-speaking and one with an English-speaking guide. I chose the French language group and this is how it went.

Though the stars of the show were the mosaics of the Odorico family, the biggest star of all was the guide, a young woman who was phased by nothing and knew the subject thoroughly. She had a wonderful speaking voice which reminded me how great French is to listen to, not just to try to speak correctly. She moved from site to site with people milling around, bicycles going behind her, as she gave us information on the various mosaics. There were people everywhere and it even started raining at one point but she pressed on regardless, staying completely focused.

The mosaics were fascinating, sometimes they were on the walls in shops, or on the floors, which we looked at through the windows from the street. Many of the shops no longer sell what they did when the mosaics were put there. For example, a fishmonger’s motif is now in a clothes shop and a pharmacy from the 1930’s now has a totally different function.

For me the Art Deco interwar mosaics were the most interesting artistically, with roundels and waves, bright colours and the use of gold coloured mosaic pieces. We were told of the way mosaics could be manufactured away from the site and then placed in their final home later. The best example for me was the St George swimming pool. Built in 1925 it is still a swimming pool and is covered in Art Deco mosaics. We were allowed in and the wave pattern mosaics and blue colouring really set the place off. There are also large buildings with external mosaics which we saw on our travels around the centre of Rennes.

It was a marvellous experience walking the streets of a modern, bustling city and seeing so many examples of such fine mosaics, especially those from the interwar period. Unforgettable!

An article by Maggie Smales

The dates for next year’s Exchange have now been agreed with our Nantais’ partners, ÉLANC.

Next years Exchange dates are now fixed 

• 11th to 18th April 2026 the Nantais visit Cardiff
• 6th to 13th June 2026  Cardiff visit Nantes

In view of the earlier Exchange Dates for next year , we will be seeking names of those willing to participate in the 2026 Exchange and making their deposit earlier.

Please do add these dates to your diaries so that you can plan other events around them.

Toute notre visite à Nantes en juin était un don pour lequel nous sommes très reconnaissants.

Arrivant dimanche le 8 juin nous étions accueillis par nos hôtes qui nous ont reçus chaleureusement chez eux.

Ce soir-là Marie- Christine et Jean- Marc ont organisé une soirée. Dans leur jardin fleuri et parfumé de jasmin nous nous sommes réunis sur la pelouse et nous nous sommes amusés à bavarder avec des amis nantais – anciens et nouveaux.

En peu de temps nous voilà avec des assiettes débordantes de spécialités régionales délicieuses.

Après cette fête une surprise nous attendait. Jean-Marc et Bernard nous ont offert des cadeaux- un collage de photos représentant notre Échange Nantes-Cardiff.

Le mien au mur dans ma maison à Barry me rappellera pour toujours ces joyeuses visites réciproques.

En plus un bol breton, avec les mots imprimés au bord «  Amitiés Nantes Cardiff », sera un autre souvenir mémorable de cette occasion.

Mardi le 11 juin au cours de la Réception à la Mairie on nous a offert un goût de Nantes sous forme du miel dont la provenance était les fleurs cultivées par les Nantais- soit dans les parcs, le Jardin des Plantes, les ronds-points, les jardins particuliers ou sur les rebords des fenêtres.

N’oublions pas les savoureux biscuits de Nantes.

Et chacun est reparti de la Mairie avec un sac cabas animé avec des images de Nantes et le guide touristique officiel de Nantes, plein d’ informations.

Nous étions vraiment gâtés!

Notre dernière excursion était au Vignoble : Château de la Jousselinière St Julien de Concelles où on nous a invités à goûter une sélection de vins de ce vignoble auguste.

Je suis sûre que je n’étais pas la seule parmi notre groupe gallois à rapporter chez nous plusieurs bouteilles de vin de ce domaine et à partager cette merveille de la France avec nos familles et nos amis.

Ces cadeaux matériels n’étaient pas les seuls cadeaux que nous avons rapportés au Pays de Galles. Il faut y compter des souvenirs merveilleux des visites, des conversations, des promenades, des repas partagés…

Un grand “Hourrah” pour l’Echange Nantes-Cardiff et un grand merci à tous les participants nantais.