The Biennale - Whitechapel Gallery

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Richelieu is an ideal mise-en-scène for an encounter between 17th century culture and art today.

Richelieu’s urban plan embraces:

Community and ritual
Trade and tourism
Nature as arcadia

Richelieu is facing the same questions as provincial and rural towns across Europe:

How do we stop our population declining?
What opportunities are there for young people?
How can we afford to restore our heritage buildings?
What kind of economies can we generate?
Can towns like Richelieu offer a liveable, sustainable alternative to crowded, expensive and polluted big cities?

Contemporary art and architecture can:

Raise awareness of Richelieu’s aesthetic, literary and political history
Stimulate a creative economy

This project has the potential to:

Drive renovation
Bring new skills for local people
Generate local, national and international awareness of the beautiful experiment that is Richelieu

The Richelieu Biennale is a contemporary response by architects and artists to a remarkable heritage site in a rural setting.

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The Richelieu Laboratory

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