Cultural programmes

Parallel to the major festivals, the cultural programme of the Nantes museums offers food for thought. The Château des Ducs de Bretagne, with its imposing moat and historic rooms, is hosting the 'Witches' exhibition until June, a thorough investigation into the persecution of witchcraft between the Middle Ages and the modern age. A stone's throw from the cathedral and the medieval quarter, the Château des ducs de Bretagne conceals an elegant palace behind a robust fortress. Its construction began in the 15th century with François II, the last duke of independent Brittany, then continued with his daughter, Anne of Brittany, twice queen of France. This beautiful ducal residence, inspired by the Renaissance, and its tufa façades herald the architecture of the Loire châteaux and, since 2007, has housed the musée d'Histoire de Nantes. Among the events taking place there, it is worth mentioning that from May to November, the castle will open its doors to the fourth edition of 'Expression(s) décoloniale(s)', where artists of the calibre of Rosana Paulino and Omar Victor Diop will dialogue with historian Lylly Houngnihin to offer new perspectives on French colonial and slave memory. No less fascinating will be the proposal of the Musée d'Arts, which with the exhibition 'Odyssée de l'oubli' will celebrate the work of Anne and Patrick Poirier, while the Hab Galerie will invite the public to re-imagine the planet with the group exhibition 'Interstellar'.