The artistic links between Jersey and France are extensive. French figureheads like Auguste Renoir, Victor Hugo, Claude Debussy, and more recently Claude Cahun visited, or lived, in Jersey at some point in their lives.
Jersey regularly welcomes French artists in residencies like the “Lock-Ins” by ArtHouse Jersey, working jointly with Jersey artists. An example of this cooperation is “Art’chaeology” in 2015, a project which aimed at exploring and celebrating archeology through the creation of contemporary works of art. Jersey and Norman artists spent time at famous archaeological sites in Normandy and Jersey and produced sculptures and paintings that were then exhibited in Jersey and Caen.
French artists come regularly to the Island to perform during the five-day French Festival (celebrating the French culture in the island and commemorating Bastille Day) and the “Fête Nouormande” / “Fête des Rouaisouns” (celebrating Norman traditions). Jersey artists are also regularly invited to artistic events in France such as Le Forum des Arts in Saint-Malo and the Norman music festival Jazz Sous Les Pommiers.
These cultural links also enabled the creation, in 2018, of a travelling exhibition from Guernsey to Normandy, via Jersey. This photographic exhibition called “L’île dans les îles” by the Norman photograph Olivier Mériel, presented a series of black and white pictures to immerse oneself in people, history, and landscapes of the Channel Islands.
Over the years, many collaborations with museums have been initiated, including the exhibition of the “coin hoard” at Jersey museum, for which the Musée de Normandie & Brittany archaeology centre lent some artefacts.
The Musée d’Art et d’Histoire of Granville also welcomed different objects from Jersey and organised exchanges around cod fisheries on the Banks of Newfoundland, where the Channel Islands and Normandy used to share boats (centuries ago!) for fishing.
In 2018, a cooperation agreement was signed between French and Channel Islands cultural structures to collaborate on joint projects. Thanks to this agreement, La Fabrique de Patrimoines, Jersey Heritage and Guernsey Museums & Galleries have planned various projects to be released in the forthcoming years.
This artistic cooperation is aimed to continue in the future and is encouraged by key organisations in Jersey. Recently, the Government of Jersey published the Jersey Arts Strategy which states that Jersey is committed to maintaining and developing its cultural relationship with France.
Further cooperation around language exists, mainly between Jersey and Normandy, such as the joint organisation of various research programmes and recording work to keep a good inventory of various accents, songs, traditions etc. Some celebrations are also regularly taking place to showcase traditional music and dance.
