The Foussais-Payré Symposium – EN | Pays de Fontenay-Vendée Tourist Office

The Foussais-Payré Symposium From 30 July to 2 August 2026

For four days, the Petite Cité de ^Caractère® in Foussais-Payré is transformed into a huge open-air workshop. Artists, sculptors and designers from a wide range of backgrounds give a second life to materials they’ve salvaged before the eyes of visitors.

Wood, metal, plants, sand and rope gradually become amazing works of art in a festive, friendly and resolutely creative atmosphere. Here, art is experienced in the great outdoors… and as close as possible to the artists.

2026 programming It hasn't been unveiled yet!

The spirit of the event What people like, beyond the programme

An open-air artists’ residency

The Symposium is not a competition but a free creative space where each artist imagines and creates his or her work live, in front of the public.

Giving new life to matter

Since 2024, the Symposium has been exploring the theme “A new life for…”. The creations take shape from materials that have been salvaged, diverted or transformed.

A vibrant artistic event

The sounds of chainsaws and laughter are just as common here. With music, demonstrations, exchanges with the artists and a village festival atmosphere, the experience is as human as it is artistic.