Visit to the Fernet-Branca Foundation in Saint-Louis

My summary

Video overview

A former distillery turned contemporary art foundation

The building is already worth a visit. Theformer Fernet-Branca distillery, built in 1907, has retained its structure, its large volumes, and the brand’s imposing eagle emblem on the roof. It used to produce the famous Fernet-Branca “digestive” liqueur, the result of a collaboration between an Alsatian doctor (Dr. Fernet) and the Branca family, originally from Milan. The factory closed in 2000.

Rather than let the site fall into disrepair, the city of Saint-Louis commissionedarchitect Jean-Michel Wilmotte to turn it into a venue for contemporary art, thus complementing the extensive cultural offering in the Trois Pays region, which includes numerous museums in Basel and the Vitra Design Museum in Germany.

The Fondation Fernet-Branca opened in 2004, with Lee Ufan ‘s first exhibition at Art Basel. It became a charitable foundation in 2011. I can’t show you any photos of the outside, as there was scaffolding when I visited, but you’ll be surprised 😉

Why visit the Fondation Fernet-Branca?

The Foundation does not have a permanent collection, but offers between two and five temporary exhibitions each year. These exhibitions are often very different from one another, which is a good reason to return regularly. Local artists as well as international names can be seen, and the venue alternates between retrospectives, duo and group shows.

For my part, I visited the Anonymous – Famous exhibition, dedicated to the two Alsatian artists Christophe Hohler and Raymond Waydelich, which I really enjoyed. I even fell in love with Christophe Hohler’s work, which I didn’t know at all (I’m not very well versed in contemporary art, I must say…) and which really touched me.

I found the way the works were displayed in the building’s large spaces very successful. On the first floor, there are several vast rooms surrounding the building’s courtyard, as well as other rooms upstairs. I have to confess that I wasn’t expecting so much space! It’s a very pleasant place to visit.

My only regret is that there aren ‘t enough explanations of the artists and the various works on display, which would be very useful, especially for neophytes like myself. Of course, it is possible to take part in guided tours, which must be very interesting, but these only take place on certain dates in the calendar.

Ideas nearby

Don’t hesitate to combine this with other activities in the Saint-Louis area: water sports at East Park, a trip to the Petite Camargue Alsacienne, the Huningue Whitewater Park, discovering the Château du Landskron or visiting nearby Basel. Enough to easily fill a varied weekend!