Centre de l'Imaginaire Arthurien
It organises an annual exhibition with the theme of the Arthurian legends and a cultural season with many events, including the Pentecôte du Roi Arthur (Pentecost of King Arthur), Rencontres de l'imaginaire de Brocéliande (Encounters with the Imaginary of Brocéliande) and the Semaine du dragon (Dragon Week).
The centre's investment in publicising the art, culture and history of the Arthurian legends and its support for open access to education has brought it public recognition.
The elficologist Pierre Dubois, artists Séverine Pineaux, Bruno Brucéro and Didier Graffet and academics Philippe Walter and Bernard Sergent are also among the centre's mainstays.
The centre receives an average 30,000 visitors per year, nearly a third of whom are scholars, but also among them have been celebrities such as Mario Vargas Llosa, Nolwenn Leroy and Patrick Poivre d'Arvor.
It owes much to the contributors of the journal Artus, a publication devoted to the Celtic countries, including specialists such as Gilbert Durand.
[1] The Centre de l'Imaginaire Arthurien has the objectives of reaching out to the general public on the Arthurian legends, disseminating artistic works (writing, visual arts, music, street arts, storytelling...), promoting the Matter of Britain to contemporary creatives so that they understand and perpetuate it, and enhancing the legendary cultural heritage.
In an interview with France 3, Claudine Glot summarised the aims of the centre by saying that it has a vocation to attract enthusiasts of the Celtic, medieval and Arthurian worlds, and talk about all the works that they inspire, including Heroic Fantasy.
It organises (and hosts) spectacles, storytelling,[7] concerts, conferences, guided tours in the forest and educational presentations for school groups.
The centre participates in drafting catalogues, educational projects, journées du patrimoine (heritage days)[8] and outreach in schools and universities, assists in documentary research, and compiles bibliographies and iconographies.
[10] In 1988, the Centre de l'Imaginaire Arthurien was officially established in Rennes, thanks to the willing efforts of several academics, regional politicians and writers.
[9] The first exhibitions were devoted to King Arthur (Arturus Rex, in collaboration with the Université Catholique de Louvain, 1988), Brocéliande and the Forest (1989), Megaliths and Stones(1990) with the participation of Pieter-Paul Koster.
France 3 Bretagne produced a documentary, then the centre was involved in planting the l'Arbre d'Or (golden tree) at the entrance to the Val sans retour.
[17] To celebrate the publication of the graphic novel Merlin by Soleil Celtic the guests of honour at Rencontres de l'Imaginaire in that year were Aleksi Briclot and Jean-Sébastien Rossbach.
[23] At the end of June, the singer Nolwenn Leroy came with a team from France 2 to shoot a documentary about the Arthurian legends and the Forest of Brocéliande with the help of the centre.
[11] It launched a campaign to restore and open La Petite Maison des Légendes (The Little House of Legends) in Concoret on 14 December.
[25] In addition to the usual days of storytelling, musical events and lectures, 2012 was punctuated by signings with Séverine Pineaux and Jerome Lereculey.
[26] During the Printemps des Légendes en 2012 (Spring of Legends organised at Monthermé the centre was guest of honour,[27] making camp and mounting an exhibition.
[30] At the end of November 2012, La Petite Maison des Légendes officially opened, thanks to a grant by the Fondation du Patrimoine (Heritage Foundation) in Brittany,[31] to private donations and to subsidies from the Communauté de Communes de Mauron en Brocéliande, the Conseil Général du Morbihan and from the region.
Artists such as Carmelo de la Pinta and Sophie Busson, as well as researchers (Christian Guyonvarc'h and the archaeologist Jacques Briard who has undertaken excavations in Paimpont Forest) promote or have actively supported the centre.
Since the end of 2012 Ls Petite Maison des Légendes is open to the public during the winter months when the Château is closed.
It is a celebration of spring and the adventures and encounters which it brings,[40] but most importantly (according to Ouest-France) it is an evocation of King Arthur's coronation day (as described by Robert de Boron in the 13th century) and his commitment to the Church.
Ouest-France, which described this festival as "essential", said that its objective is to, "montrer et donc faire découvrir tout ce qui se fait dans la littérature autour des légendes" (show and demonstrate everything done in the literature around these legends).
[48] In early February 2012 the centre met a team from TF1 at the Château de Comper for a "Closeup on Rennes",[49] in which Claudine Glot, Nicolas Mezzalira et Séverine Pineaux participated.
[57] Among the most prestigious visitors, the centre includes Mario Vargas Llosa (who is a great admirer of chivalric romance)[1]), Hugo Pratt, Jean Raspail, Laurent Voulzy, Jéromine Pasteur, Sylvain Tesson, Nolwenn Leroy and Patrick Poivre d'Arvor.
[9] The Petit Futé rommends, "Especially take the time to devote a long afternoon to discovering the Centre de l'Imaginaire Arthurien, and appreciate the beauty of the exhibits as well as exploring the libraries".
[60] The MTV guide mentions the centre as a, "lieu propice à l'imagination et au voyage dans le temps, soulignant par ailleurs le très bon rapport qualité-prix des visites au Château de Comper" (a suitable place for the imagination and to travel time, further underlining the great value of visits to the Château de Comper).
Published from 1979 to 1986, it contained in-depth articles devoted to the Celtic and Nordic countries in the fields of art, legends or history.
The editorial board of the journal offered fine art books and research on these themes as well as postcards of drawings by Gustave Doré and the Breton landscape.
