Following the latest government announcements to place the Alpes-Maritimes under lockdown 7/7, the 3rd edition of the Côte d’Azur Garden Festival could not take place in April as initially planned. Very attached to this Festival, the Department of Alpes-Maritimes is pleased to announce its postponement from May 9 to June 9, 2021.
Although the Festival will not have its usual international reach, the goal this year is to maintain this event by offering the Maralpins the opportunity to visit, adapted to the health situation, artistic open-air gardens near their homes.
“From May 9 to June 9, 2021, we will be able to discover a true open-air museum through 14 ephemeral creations in competition across 5 municipalities in the department and, for the first time in the Festival’s history, in Monaco, along with 11 non-competitive gardens. This Festival, created in 2017 to highlight our exceptional cultural heritage and strengthen the tourist attractiveness of the Alpes-Maritimes, will have a particularly special flavor this year. Initially scheduled for April, we did everything possible to keep this event going. After a dark year, it will serve as an opportunity for each of us—locals, enthusiasts, or amateurs—to reconnect with art and nature.” Charles Ange Ginésy, President of the Department of Alpes-Maritimes.
Landscape Creations by Passionate Professionals
Each garden presented will feature an authentic universe with a surface area of 200 m², taking into consideration the challenges of sustainable development. This free event is intended for nature lovers, garden and botany enthusiasts, residents of the Alpes-Maritimes, school students, landscape architecture, design or horticulture students, artists, as well as professionals in the sector.
Overview of the Gardens in Competition
In Antibes-Juan-les-Pins within the magnificent Pinède Gould:
“Plastic Dancer” designed by Italian Julia Georgi and the Politecnico di Milano, “Meeting the Senses” by Finnish landscape designer Kairi Meos, Heidi Hannus and Svetlana Lavrentyeva, and “Reflection” imagined by Terideal.
In Cannes within the splendid setting of Villa Rothschild:
“Folie Folia” by Livia Kolb and Virginie Alexe, and “Complantation/Contemplation” by Catherine Baas and Christophe Tardy.
In Grasse, within the enchanting garden of Villa Fragonard:
“The Artistic Fiber” by Elodie Cottar and Marion Hintzy, and “Glimpse of Paradise” by Johan Picorit and Ambroise Jeanvoine.
In Menton, within the luminous garden of Biovès:
“Meeting at the Artist’s Place” created by Johanna Bonella and Abel Flosi, and “Artistic Hybridizations” by Aurélien Davroux and Michel Lopez.
In Nice, in the heart of Albert I Garden:
“The Orientalist’s Garden” imagined by Vincent Confortini and Louise Lefebvre, “Where the Plants Tell the Tales” by Andréa Russo and Vincenzo Nardi, and “The Muses’ Labyrinth” created by Italian artist Daniela Donisi.
In the Principality of Monaco:
“Free the Girls” by Christophe Gautrand, and “From One Dream to Another” designed by Chinese artist Maggie Wu Wai Chung.
7 Awards Given by 3 Juries During the Festival
The four awards:
- The jury prize awarded by the festival jury consisting of elected officials, personalities, and garden representatives
- The landscape professionals’ prize awarded by UNEP (National Union of Landscape Companies)
- The GREEN Deal prize awarded to the most eco-friendly garden, decided by the Festival jury
- The press prize awarded by a jury of French and European journalists from the specialized press & 3 “artistic” favorites will be awarded by each of the 3 juries.
11 Non-Competitive Ephemeral Gardens to Discover on Several Sites of the Côte d’Azur
This year, 3 municipalities join the non-competitive festival: Cap-D’ail, Mandelieu-la Napoule, and Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. Together with the municipalities in competition, they will present a total of 11 non-competitive gardens, created by the green space services of each community. The festival partners, Campus Vert d’Azur in Antibes, the National Union of Landscape Companies, and the Garden and Horticulture Journalists Association, will also offer gardens specially created for the occasion.
Throughout the Festival, numerous activities and a treasure hunt will be organized in the municipalities of Antibes, Cagnes-sur-Mer, Cannes, Cap d’Ail, Eze, Grasse, La Brigue, La Gaude, Le Cannet, Mandelieu- La Napoule, Menton, Monaco, Nice, Peymeinade, Plan-du Var, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, and Vallauris, adhering to health measures.
