namely commissioning public art. The DRAC Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes has been committed for years to public art com-missions, considered an incredible tool for making art accessi-ble to everyone, a way of generating wonderful meetings between resi-dents, the general public, an artist and a work of art. So, the Secret of the World is the seventh work of art supported by the Ministry of Culture in ten years, in the western part of the region. There was Air (e) de repos by Valérie Duchéné in Beaumont, Géologie de la mémoire by Guillaume Leblon in Saint-Martin-Cantalès, Le Cœur de l’Hôtel-Dieu by Jean-Michel Othoniel in Le Puy-en-Velay, Bloc/sculpture by Paul-Armand Gette in Le Chambon-sur-Lignon and Ma Montagne by Camille Henrot in Pailherols.
A public art commission is simultaneously a creative act, a risk taken by an artist and always a wonderful human and collective adventure.
A public art commission is simultane-ously a creative act, a risk taken by an artist and always a wonderful human and collective adventure. Since opening in 2007, the Musée de Lezoux, Museum of France, has given unwavering support to ensure accessibility and sharing. It has been repeatedly commended by the Ministry of Culture which awarded it the Patrimoine pour Tous Prize in 2015, and the Osez le musée Prize in 2019.
The Secret of the World was also designed to be a dismountable and mobile work of art so as to be able to get as close as possible to ‘excluded’ audiences. In 2019 therefore, it headed to the CHU D’Estaing in Clermont-Ferrand. The Drac Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is proud to have partnered with the museum team and the Puy-de-Dôme department for this new endeav-our. We hope that everyone can come and experience the ‘Secret of the World’!
Michel Prosic
Regional Director of Cultural Affairs
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
