Arts and Crafts City - Pyrénées

Press Release 3-9
Pyrénées-Orientales
Welcome to the Mediterranean Pyrenees!
Art de Vivre
I N F O R M AT I O N
Ville et Métiers d’art
CFMA (French Confederation
of Arts and Crafts)
Tel. +33 (0)1 48 88 26 56
[email protected]
www.vma.asso.fr
SEMA
(Society for Promoting
Arts and Crafts)
Tel. +33 (0)1 55 78 85 85
CMA
(Arts and Crafts Council)
Chairman: the Minister of Culture
and Communication
Tel. +33 (0)1 40 15 80 00
Catalan Association of Ironworkers
Tel. +33 (0)4 68 39 12 22
[email protected]
Sources and bibliography
“Itinéraires de l’Excellence" flyers
Ville et Métiers d’Art,
"Archipel des Métiers d’Art
en Languedoc-Roussillon", "A la rencontre
des Métiers d’Art en Languedoc-Roussillon,
Pyrénées-Orientales".
Internet links
www.ville-arles-sur-tech.fr
www.tourisme.fr/artisanat
www.ferronnerie-catalane.com
www.tourisme-pyreneesorientales.com
Arts and Crafts City
France is probably the only country in the world with the widest variety of skilled crafts,
some centuries old, and where these multiple traditions have been preserved - and
updated - since talent and inspiration sometimes team up with fashion and
contemporary design. You are invited to discover the authenticity of the best crafts:
tableware, jewellery, stained glass windows, bell foundry, cabinetmaking, textiles...
Created in May 1992, at the initiative of local representative together with
professionals committed to promoting the cultural wealth and diversity of Arts and
Crafts in their cities, the "Ville et Métiers d'art" label (Arts and Crafts City) groups
together 59 towns and villages for which excellence and authenticity are top priorities.
The Pyrénées-Orientales has two cities with the label "Ville et Métiers d'art".
How does it work?
• The town of Arles-sur-Tech earned this label in 1998.The trophy was presented
during the 1st European Wrought Iron Art meeting (which took place in Arles-sur-Tech
on 23, 24 and 25 October 1998) by Mrs Dutruc, General Delegate of the
Confederation of Arts and Crafts. Arles-sur-Tech is also part of the "Archipel des
Métiers d’Art”, an association of artisans. The difference between "Archipel des
Métiers d’Art" and "Ville et Métiers d'Art" lies in the fact that the former only covers
the region of Languedoc-Roussillon, while the latter is a national association. Each
city has its own specificity. Home to the former Catalan forges and evidence of
mineral riches, Arles-sur-Tech was renowned for the "craftsmanship" of its master
ironworkers. Transformation, processing and iron art are all reflected through
exceptional works: locks, hinges, chandeliers and Catalan knife of Arles. It holds
each year in October, European Wrought Iron Art Meeting.
• The expertise of Prades resides in “heritage buildings and furniture": ceramics,
ironwork, trompe-l’oeil (fake wood, fake marble), frescoes, plaster casts of
Romanesque capitals, stone carving, tapestry, decoration, painted furniture and
cabinetmaking.
References to other information sheets
The Most Beautiful Villages in France
The Loveliest Detours of France
Cities and Lands of Art and History
PRESS SERVICE
Pyrénées-Orientales Tourist Board
Pascale Gimenez > Tel. +33 (0)4 68 51 52 68 - [email protected]
Martine Caudine > Tel. +33 (0)4 68 51 52 58 - [email protected]
Pyrénées-Orientales Tourist Board
16, avenue des Palmiers - CS 80540
66005 Perpignan Cedex - France
Tel. +33 (0)4 68 51 52 53
www.tourisme-pyreneesorientales.com