The art of mining
Positively shaping and enhancing the image of the territory through cultural mediation: this was the challenge taken up in 2012 by the Regional Nature Park in an ambitious, large-scale initiative, to construct a ‘mining art trail’.
Landscape artists from France, Switzerland, and further afield - Poland, Brazil, South Korea - came to create artworks, some on a monumental scale, in the heart of “mining country”, in the most densely populated and most economically disadvantaged communes of the Regional Nature Park. The results saw residents and visitors alike walking and cycling across the mining landscapes and rediscovering them through art. A slag heap covered with great fiery flames, a black diamond sitting on an old railway line once used for transporting coal, ladders rising from a mining subsidence pond, on the site of a former river terminal: all these offer a new take on things. Around these artworks, a programme of celebratory events throughout summer 2012 brought together other artists (including a cellist, a dancer and a visual artist), as well as residents, commune officials, schools, leisure centres, accommodation providers, clubs and volunteers. The communes swung into action, working together and getting to know each other. The local residents spoke, proudly telling their stories. Of course, art is ephemeral. The works will disappear under the effect of rain, sun and deterioration. But what is left behind is eternal, such as the fostering and enjoyment of dialogue between generations, cultures, occupations, etc.
A full programme of events based around the mining art trail initiative was held throughout summer 2012. Since then, the works have remained on display within an 8-kilometre loop, which can be visited starting from Vieux-Condé, Condé-sur-Escaut or Hergnies.
