Saint-Nazaire's Le Grand Café to Become Photography Center

The socialist municipality of Saint-Nazaire plans to transform Le Grand Café, a contemporary art center opened in 1997 and labeled 'Centre d'art contemporain d'intérêt national' in 2018, into a center exclusively dedicated to photography. The building will undergo renovation starting spring 2027, with completion expected by end of 2028, and will not reopen as a general contemporary art space. The city, which has owned the premises since the early 1990s, aims to attract a broader audience through the popular medium of photography. The new center will be managed by a private entity rather than directly by the city, with a call for expressions of interest to be issued by end of 2026. Director Sophie Legrandjacques was informed on May 18, 2026. The city currently provides an annual subsidy of €870,000 to Le Grand Café, but the amount for the new center is undetermined. Nine employees face layoffs or reassignment. The decision has drawn criticism from DCA (the network of art centers) and the local CGT union, who denounce the loss of a key cultural actor and threats to programming freedom.