Jean Vilar Centre

The site preserves the archives of Jean Vilar and the Festival d'Avignon, while ensuring the Festival's year-round presence in our region.

Backed by a conservation and research center under the responsibility of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, it is one of the rare exhibition venues dedicated to the performing arts, drawing on its heritage holdings to share the memory of the theater, and in particular that of Jean Vilar and popular theater.
Exhibitions, readings, meetings, publications and workshops are just some of the ways in which this shared memory can be passed on and kept alive today.


PERMANENT EXHIBITION
Les Clés du Festival
The adventure of the Festival d'Avignon 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and the collections of the Bibliothèque nationale de France - photographs, films, sound recordings, posters, programs, unpublished notes and correspondence, emblematic sets, original drawings, models and legendary costumes - the first permanent exhibition at the Maison Jean Vilar invites visitors to experience the adventure of the Festival d'Avignon all year round. Les Clés du Festival unveils the history of the Festival from 1947 to the present day, through its major themes: the festival of origins, a festival of artists and creation, a festival and its audience, a festival that mirrors the world, Avignon Ville festival, the Festival Off, the Festival factory.
The second floor of the Maison Jean Vilar (a total surface area of 350 m²), offers a selection of iconic pieces, striking testimonials, renewed sources, artistic and human stories brought back to life.
This exhibition invites you into the heart of the creations that have made up the Festival's finest hours: from Jean Vilar's Prince of Homburg to Peter Brook's Mahabharata, from Thomas Jolly's Thyeste to Caroline Guiela Nguyen's Saigon, or the creations of Thomas Ostermeier, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Rébecca Chaillon and Angélica Liddell.
By entrusting a wide audience with "the keys to the Festival", this exhibition aims to extend the founding gesture of Jean Vilar and the Théâtre Populaire: for all and for everyone.
Full price: €7 / Reduced price: 4€ - Guided tours: 8€ / 5€

IH : Access ramp.