Village Street Art

 

Argelès-sur-mer is a small French Village on the Med. This weekend they had their second annual street art festival where local artists paint buildings. 

Last year they covered the walls of public buildings. This year they worked on the frames along the sea which usually have a photo display.

What fun to walk and look at the different works being created. 

What fun to chat with some of the artists. Their work is extremely varied.

Some were political

  

Some were fun like the merman.

  

Some had their own beauty in color and the stories they told.

After talking with an artist and her daughter who are also our neighbors, we continued along the quai and had lunch enjoying the view of the boats, harbor and mountains.

I couldn't help but feel smug about living here part time (and also in Geneva) as I shared my grilled gambas with Sherlock.

When I bought my studio in 1989, Argelès was mainly a Catalan village from the time of Charlemagne with buildings going back hundreds of years. 

 

Over the years, the grey buildings took on color. French from the north retired among the Catalans. People of all European nationalities had second or first homes, renovating them. The village became as international as Geneva, which is 43% foreign.

Many from the Danish movie, television and news community, made it their summer home. Other artists set up studios.

The city created pedestrians walks through the center, converted parking lots to plazas, added parking on the outskirts.

The local shops stayed. The smells of baking bread from the bakeries, chickens roasting from the butcher remained. The number of restaurants increased.

The movie theatre (73 steps from my door) shows hits from all over the world and has more than one film festival a year, often with the directors and stars in attendance. Now that that covid is over, they once again have special nights with documentaries about French singers, followed by a dinner and a concert for a price that seldom exceeds 15 Euros.

My studio had been an attic filled with grain but had been modernized with original stone walls and beams. A fireplace added to the atmosphere.

This week we will go to the Geneva village about 20 minutes from the city by bus for the summer, returning in the early fall. We will immerse ourselves in local events, go to the farmers market, walk along the lake, take in summer activities, pick mulberries from the tree in the garden but mostly use the time to write.

I can't ask for more than this life I have.