European Heritage Days

2026 EDITION

The 43rd European Heritage Days will take place on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September 2026, focusing on the themes ‘Photographic Heritage’ and ‘Heritage at Risk: Revive, Resist, Reimagine’. The Frac will be open on Saturday and Sunday from 2 pm to 6 pm. 

Entry is free for everyone, as is access to the tours and activities on offer throughout the weekend. 

Booking for activities is recommended via the Frac Grand Large’s HelloAsso account. (coming soon)

SATURDAY 

2.00–3.00 pm: TOUR OF THE STOREROOMS

Discover the storage area dedicated to housing the works in the collection. The collection comprises over 2,000 works. But where are they stored? Are they often moved? Under what conditions? Enjoy a unique experience as you take a special tour through areas that are usually off-limits (unloading bay, transit area, etc.). The FRAC’s behind-the-scenes areas will hold no more secrets for you! And who knows, crates and packaging containing new acquisitions might even be opened especially for the occasion. 

Free · Registration recommended via HelloAsso.

Awarded the France Design Week label

3.00–4.00 pm: ‘PERFORMANCE PHILTRES D’AMOURS’. A talk on romantic passion. 

55 minutes, an intergenerational experience for ages 12 and over 

PHILTRES D’AMOURS is a production created by the ‘Research and Experimentation’ department of L’Atelier de Création L’ORGANISATION, based on work that Elodie Ségui has been carrying out since November 2016 on romantic passion.  

On stage, she constructs the visual installation entitled ‘The Extent of the Disaster of Passion’. She then slips into the scenography of the catastrophe to present a dramatic narrative drawn from bibliographical sources, interviews, field research, scientific collaborations and autofiction. Inspired by the work of the ethnopsychiatrist Tobie Nathan—particularly his essay *Philtre d’Amour*—and that of the botanist Jean Marie-Pelt on ‘magic drugs and plants’, and by sociologist Eva Illouz’s work on emotional dependencies, as well as by her own missteps and experiments, she will, with full awareness, lay bare the mechanisms at work at the heart of passion. A road movie in the form of an intimate documentary theatre piece, *PHILTRES D’AMOURS* will unveil the disasters and rebirths of romantic passion, as well as the great family of the Zars and the Djinns, spells, perfumes, prayers, rites and other lost cults. 

Text, direction and performance: Elodie Ségui Abd EL Kader Artistic
collaboration: Mathieu Dufourg Lighting
design and technical direction: Yvan Labasse Executive
production: L’ORGANISATION – Atelier de création, in partnership with the City of Saint-Denis. With the support of the Nouveau Théâtre de Montreuil – CDN and L’Agora – the national theatre of Evry and the Hauts-de-France region.
As part of the ‘Plaines d’été’ programme supported by the Hauts-de-France Regional Directorate for Cultural Affairs. 

No booking required, subject to availability 

3.00–4.00 pm: INCLUSIVE
SENSORY TRAIL For ages 7 and over, accessible to blind and visually impaired people

Here, sight is no longer the sole guide: the journey is shaped by touch, listening and the imagination. An invitation to slow down and pay attention to textures, smells, sounds and stories, this journey offers a different way of engaging with the artworks, one that is attuned to the diversity of experiences and perceptions. 

Free · Registration recommended via HelloAsso.

4.00–4.40 pm: MINI EXPLORERS’ TRAIL: ‘Nino
and the Enchanted Kitchen’ (ages 3–6) 

Immerse yourself in the world of Nino, a little food-loving boy who has discovered a cheerful vertical kitchen designed by Matali Crasset. With textures to touch, scents to guess, sounds to listen to and secrets to uncover, this storytelling tour invites young and old alike on a unique sensory journey into the heart of nature, light… and the imagination. 

Each child must be accompanied by an adult.
Free · Registration recommended via HelloAsso.

Awarded the France Design Week label

4.00–5.00 pm: LECTURE: ‘Bringing Art to Life’ – Protocol and Immateriality in Contemporary Art 

Intangible works have always existed, but they simply did not enjoy the same prominence as statues or paintings. Today, they have become fully established in the art market and form an integral part of the FRAC’s collections. However, whilst they are easy to acquire and disseminate, they challenge our relationship with collecting and materiality: for how can we preserve something we cannot grasp or touch? We must therefore approach them by accepting the inevitable disappearance of each activation, and by relying on collective memory to ensure they are not consigned to oblivion. 

5.00–6.00 pm: TOUR OF SEMI-PERMANENT EXHIBITIONS

At the Frac, exhibitions come and go, and artworks are constantly being displayed and removed. Yet some installations remain in place. Make the most of this visit to discover or take a fresh look at: *La Cuisine en terrasse* by matali crasset, the furniture in the reception and café area designed by Lang/Baumann, the sports pitch markings on Céline Condorelli’s ‘Play for Today’ forecourt, and Jesse Darling’s monumental installation ‘Gravity Road’, which occupies the Belvédère. 

Free · Registration recommended via HelloAsso.

Awarded the France Design Week label

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SUNDAY 

2.00–3.00 pm: TOUR OF THE STOREROOMS

Discover the storage area dedicated to housing the works in the collection. 

Free · Registration recommended via HelloAsso.

Awarded the France Design Week label

3.00–4.00 pm: SESSION: Landscapes, the historic environment and biodiversity in the built environment 

From the Frac Lookout, let your gaze wander over the immediate surroundings, the sea horizons and the landscape unfolding all around you. Bart Bollengier, biodiversity officer at CPIE Flandre Maritime, will raise your awareness of the challenges facing the coastline and introduce you to its biodiversity: the animal and plant species that inhabit this environment. 

4.00–5.00 pm: TALK: Technological obsolescence and video collections. 

Since the industrial boom of the 19th century, we have faced the constant and ever-accelerating renewal of our tools. There have been numerous technological innovations, and amongst them, the ability to capture images – and, more specifically, movement – has brought about a genuine revolution in our relationship with the world. From photography to film, then to video – and now digital media – this drastic acceleration in the ways in which images are disseminated cannot occur without negative consequences: obsolescence and its programming. Through several video works from the FRAC – a characteristic form of artistic expression from the 1970s and 1980s – we will explore the limitations of preserving, disseminating and passing on these works. More broadly, this concerns a substantial cultural heritage, and the traces of human activity—whether historical, political, industrial, military or technical. 

4.00 pm–4.40 pm: MINI BODY AWARENESS COURSE (0–3 years)  

Tailored to the developmental stages of very young children, this session encourages young visitors to interact with each other and their surroundings, whilst fostering self-discovery. This workshop helps to stimulate the imagination and encourage free movement. 

Featuring: Amélie Becuwe, art therapist, art-based mediation practitioner and special needs teacher 

Every child must be accompanied by an adult. 

Free · Registration recommended via HelloAsso.

5.00–6.00 pm: ARCHITECTURE TOUR 

Explore two twin buildings with complementary functions: on one side, the 1949 Ateliers et Chantiers de France building; on the other, a ‘New Generation’ FRAC, bespoke-designed to fulfil the FRAC’s remit and house its 2,000 works. Discover these two spaces, which bridge industrial heritage and contemporary innovation, designed by architects Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal (2021 Pritzker Prize winners), and learn more about their technical designs. 

Free · Registration recommended via HelloAsso.

5.00–6.00 pm: PERFORMANCE: *Memento vivere*.  

50 minutes, for ages 12 and over. Please
note: *Memento vivere* deals with themes of gender-based and sexual violence. 

“More often than not in history, ‘anonymous’ meant a woman.” Virginia Woolf, 1929.
Anonymous. Yet women have never stopped speaking, writing, painting and creating. Their works hold up a mirror to us – not a *Memento mori* (‘Remember that you must die’), but a *Memento vivere* (‘Remember that you are alive’). Following on from the museum performance *Eloge des créatrices*, with *Plaines d’été*, Bernadette Gruson has created *Memento vivere*, an impromptu piece that does far more than simply bring works out of museums; it rescues artists from oblivion and brings to light their talent, their names, and the system that erased them. 

Concept, writing, performance and direction: Bernadette Gruson Dramaturgical
collaboration: Solène Petit Dramaturgy assistant
trainee: Maayana Portmann-Barret
Production: Compagnie Zaoum Special
thanks to La Soubise Community Centre and Frûctose for hosting us during our residency. 
This project forms part of the ‘Vacances culturelles’ programme, an initiative of the Ministry of Culture, and is part of the ‘Plaines d’été’ programme supported by the Hauts-de-France Regional Directorate for Cultural Affairs.

No booking required, subject to availability