Melle International Contemporary Art Biennale Explores Arboreal Echoes and Agricultural Ambivalences

The 11th Biennale internationale d’art contemporain de Melle unfolds from June 27, 2026, to September 27, 2026, in Melle, France, with an exhibition that resonates with the town's arboretum. Curated by artist Jan Kopp, it features around fifty artists, including about ten new commissions, engaging with themes of water and local agricultural history. Works are displayed across diverse venues such as the Hôtel de Ménoc, Romanesque churches, a Protestant temple, former washhouses, gardens, parks, and public squares. The biennial emphasizes a situated ecological thought, unconditional hospitality, and resistance, framing Melle as a 'ville-autrice' where art reconfigures ways of seeing and inhabiting the world. Residents are involved in creating some pieces, fostering shared reflection through singular experiences. A visual highlight includes Rodney Graham's 1991 cibachrome photograph 'Tree Ponderosa Pines II' from the Frac Poitou-Charentes collection in Angoulême.