Maison Jean Vilar

The place preserves the archives of Jean Vilar and the Avignon Festival while ensuring its year-round presence in our region.

Backed by a conservation and research center under the responsibility of the National Library of France, it is one of the rare exhibition spaces dedicated to the performing arts, drawing on its heritage funds in order to share the memory of the theater and particularly that of Jean Vilar and popular theater.
Exhibitions, readings, meetings, publications and workshops are all proposals to transmit and keep this common memory alive today.


PERMANENT EXHIBITION
The Keys to the Festival
The Avignon Festival adventure from its origins to the present day

Through an immersive scenography that brings together nearly a thousand documents and archives from the Maison Jean Vilar and the collections of the Bibliothèque nationale de France—photographs, films, sound recordings, posters, programs, unpublished notes and correspondence, iconic sets, original drawings, models, and legendary costumes—the Maison Jean Vilar's first permanent exhibition invites visitors to experience the adventure of the Avignon Festival year-round. "The Keys to the Festival" will unveil the Festival's history from 1947 to the present day, exploring its major themes: the festival's origins, a festival of artists and creation, a festival and its audience, a festival as a mirror of the world, Avignon as a festival city, the Off Festival, and the making of the Festival.
The first floor of the Maison Jean Vilar (totaling 350 m²) offers a selection of iconic pieces, striking testimonies, renewed sources, and recounted artistic and human stories.
This exhibition invites you to the heart of the creations that made the Festival's greatest moments: from Jean Vilar's Prince of Homburg to Peter Brook's Mahabharata, from Thomas Jolly's Thyestes to Caroline Guiela Nguyen's Saigon, or the creations of Thomas Ostermeier, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Rébecca Chaillon and Angélica Liddell.
By entrusting “the keys to the Festival” to a wide audience, this exhibition aims to extend the founding gesture of Jean Vilar and the Théâtre Populaire: for everyone.
Full price: €7 / Reduced price: €4.

Guided tours on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 14:15 p.m. > reservation recommended
Prices: €8 / €5

Parent/child workshops related to the exhibition
Workshop options: "Design your banner" / "Design your costume"
After visiting the permanent exhibition "The Keys to the Festival: The Adventure of the Avignon Festival from its origins to the present day," parents and children are invited to discover an essential archive of the history of the Avignon Festival: the oriflamme or costume designs.
→ Every Wednesday and Saturday at 15:30pm (except on event days).
→ For accompanied children aged 6 to 10 years.
→ Single price €10 (1 parent + 1 child) + €5 per additional child and + €5 per additional adult.
Reservations required: accueil@maisonjeanvilar.org
NB: Workshop visits are available for groups of 4 to 20 people.

THE EXHIBITION WILL BE CLOSED FROM JUNE 8TH TO JULY 3RD INCLUSIVE.

IH: Access ramp.

Except for certain temporary exhibitions.