Conceived as an urban art trail, the Echappées d'art project is a contemporary art event launched every year by the City of Angers, since 2016. In connivance with the city's exceptional heritage, the works produced invite themselves to reveal new points of view.

This 10th edition invites Angevins and residents from all over the agglomeration to discover a new artistic journey. For the second year running, Manifesto is responsible for the artistic direction and production of the event. This year, Manifesto has invited three artists to intervene in the public space: Irma Kalt, Raphaël Emine and Kahina Loumi.

"In almost 10 years, Les Échappées d'art d'Angers has become one of France's leading collections of art in the public space, and the key to this success is its development throughout the city, for and with local residents, in a spirit of inclusion and diversity"
- Nicolas Dufetel, Deputy Director of Culture and Heritage for the City of Angers.

As part of Échappées d’art 2025, Irma Kalt is designing the exterior of a tramway car, working around the concept of lines. The artwork will be visible from June to October, in partnership with Irigo.

In her artistic practice, Irma Kalt explores a long process of appropriating form, often beginning with drawing before moving through various media: printing on paper or fabric, photography, vectorization, and then returning to drawing, painting, or printing. This slow and complex circulation allows her to test the motif, adjust its focus, and question how we look at things. Between traditional craftsmanship and contemporary tools, her works bear the traces of vanished or transformed forms. For the artist, this fragile beauty emerges from the slow layering of strata, where each stage adds to the memory of the motif.

From June to October, Raphaël Emine will present a work in the courtyard of the Musée Pincé. His work resonates with the building’s facades and the museum’s non-Western collections, creating a dialogue between contemporary art and heritage.

Raphaël Emine breaks down the boundaries between theoretical and practical knowledge by creating installations that incorporate biology and living organisms. His ceramic sculptures merge traditional modeling with 3D printing to create complex forms inspired by architectures found in nature. By inviting non-human entities to inhabit some of his works, he proposes symbioses between the mineral and the organic, at the crossroads of utopian architecture, speculative design, and decorative arts.

In September, Kahina Loumi will create a mural in soft, joyful colors for the Monplaisir neighborhood.

Kahina Loumi creates abstract and minimalist compositions. Inspired by the light and emotions experienced in nature, she creates “optimistic paintings” in subtle, often diluted hues, carefully developed over time. Her works, conceived in relation to the spaces they inhabit, invite viewers to take a stroll through landscapes of paintings.

Since June 2024, the wall installation by Recycle Group continues to animate the intersection of St Blaise and St Julien streets and will remain on display until October 2025.

Andrey Blokhin and Georgy Kuznetsov bring together sculpture, installation, and digital creation in large-scale works. They draw on the history of Western religious art, reinterpreting it through the lens of 21st-century technologies and the new “mythologies” of everyday life. Their bas-relief work is a major part of their artistic production. Inspired by classical iconography, these pieces pay homage to a long tradition of painting and sculpture.

In partnership with the École Supérieure d’Art et de Design TALM-Angers, the Franco-Belgian artist and designer duo Sadowczyk_Cauwe, based in Brussels, will present Morpho starting in June on Place François Mitterrand. This graphic composition features motifs selected from the Tapestry of the Apocalypse. Their mixed-media work explores themes related to philosophy, history, anecdotes, and folklore.

In this piece, the artwork symbolizes a form of life emerging from the remnants of an apocalyptic world—life that has transformed and managed to be reborn from its own ashes. Sadowczyk_Cauwe speculates on a joyful hope that persists in the face of catastrophe.

The Artothèque of Angers, a space dedicated to the dissemination of contemporary art, contributes to the event with the loan of original works from its collection, as well as through regular exhibitions and activities both on- and off-site.

For the occasion, 12 printed artworks from the series “Les temps changent”—a public commission created in partnership between the Centre National des Arts Plastiques (CNAP) and the Association de Développement et de Recherche sur les Artothèques (ADRA)—will be displayed in local shops throughout the city center. These pieces offer unique interpretations of the present and its possible futures through the lens of contemporary art.

The exhibition is extended with the addition of a video artwork from the Artothèque’s collection.

As part of the renovation of 1 rue André Maurois by Angers Loire Habitat, the mural Yaye will be replaced by a new artistic project from the collective La Douceur. Developed in collaboration with residents, this new mural focuses on themes of gender equality and the role of women in the Roseraie neighborhood. The artwork is intended as a universal metaphor for listening, hope, and contemplation. The central scene, featuring a woman in silent dialogue with nature, will symbolize freedom, renewal, and the fragility of the environment.

Andrey Blokhin and Georgy Kuznetsov blend sculpture, installation, and digital creation in their large-scale works. Drawing from the history of Western religious art, they reinterpret it through the lens of 21st-century technology and the emerging “mythologies” of daily life.

Their bas-relief work is a key focus of their practice. Inspired by classical iconography, these pieces pay tribute to the longstanding traditions of painting and sculpture. On display since June 2024, their wall installation will continue to animate the intersection of St Blaise and St Julien streets until October 2025.

For the 2025 edition, Échappées d’art is offering free guided tours open to all, helping residents get closer to the artworks. Whether on foot, by bike, or by tram, a cultural mediator will guide visitors through a selection of urban artworks—chosen freely by each group.

The event also reaffirms its commitment to participatory art projects. MurMurMoi, a system of free walls provided by the city, will allow anyone to express themselves artistically (through graffiti, collage, stencils, etc.) without needing prior authorization. This support for local street art practice integrates residents into the creative process of the event.