Château-Gontier (Mayenne). After the Frac and the Visual Arts Center of Pays de la Loire, it is the turn of the Carré, Scène nationale and Center for contemporary art of national interest (Cacin), located in Château-Gontier, to suffer from the cultural disengagement of the Region. “Our structure has been strongly impacted by the radical decisions of the Regional Council”confides Maël Grenier, director of Le Carré. Despite the continuation of aid from the State (€634,000), from the Community of Communes of the Pays de Château-Gontier (€520,000) and from the department of Mayenne (€132,000) in 2025, the elimination of the entire subsidy from the Region, i.e. 137,000 euros, cut the cultural center by 8% of its overall budget, by 1.6 million euros in 2025. This “ historical and brutal situation » forced the structure to adapt. The team initially opted for a 25% reduction in programming: fewer shows for the National Stage, while the format of the art center’s three annual exhibitions and the production contribution were revised downwards.
Cuts in the payroll
These first measures proved insufficient. The director ended up proposing to make a cut in the HR line, as operating expenses at the structural level had already been reduced as much as possible in recent years. “Our current model, with the specifications of the Scène nationale and the Cacin label, is no longer sustainable given our budgetary capacities”he explains. The National Stage representing 75 to 80% of activity and the Contemporary Art Center 20 to 25%, it is the position of director of programming of the art center that Maël Grenier proposed to eliminate, which the Board of Directors approved almost unanimously. Bertrand Godot, who had held the position for more than thirty years, was dismissed for economic reasons in November. “If we do nothing, it’s the artists who will pay the bill”justifies Maël Grenier
The specifications of certified art centers require that the structures have a full-time artistic director at their head“we are inevitably moving towards a suspension and very probably towards a removal of the label”explains the director. Paradoxically, Le Carré was the third art center to obtain the label in 2018. The suspension should be effective in the coming weeks and the deletion will take place automatically at the end of a transitional period of six months from the date of the suspension (period during which the structures are supposed to come back into compliance with the specifications). As for DCA, the network of art centers, “I hope that we remain members and that we think together about several avenues for business continuity”he says.
A new model to build for the Contemporary Art Center
“The art center is absolutely not threatened and nothing will change in terms of welcoming audiences and supporting artists”assures Maël Grenier. In this tense budgetary context, Le Carré is looking for a new model for its art center. The curatorship of the three annual exhibitions will now be entrusted to independent curators, relying in particular on the “Cura” program, initiated by the Ministry of Culture, within the National Scenes. The director also plans to develop partnerships with other visual arts structures in the Region.
