Arts Courses & Gardens - Regulations 2025

Preamble

Cours & Jardins des Arts is a friendly and festive contemporary cultural event intended to promote, encourage knowledge, promotion and dissemination of contemporary art in all its forms; to encourage the emergence of new artists and to discover the village of Vers-Pont-du-Gard (30210) through its courtyards and gardens generously made available to artists by their owners. The works presented at Cours & Jardins des Arts can be of any technique (paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures, installations, videos, etc.).

Cours & Jardins des Arts brings the village to life with the presence of artists from various backgrounds. The event allows artists to be in direct contact with visitors through a fruitful dialogue. The Cours & Jardins des Arts event is organized by the association “Cours & Jardins des Arts” in partnership with the Town Hall of Vers-Pont-du-Gard.

The 17^th edition of “Cours & Jardins des Arts” will be held on July 18, 19 and 20, 2025 in Vers-Pont-du-Gard.

The visit to “Cours & Jardins des Arts” is free for the public.

Article 1^er - Call for applications

This call for applications is aimed at any artist known or not to institutional and commercial venues and able to present a recent production. It is distributed from December 1, 2024 to February 15, 2025, by flyers, emails, on the site Arts Courses and Gardens, on the pages Facebook And Instagram of Courses & Gardens of Art.

Applications must be submitted before February 15, 2025 using the form accessible on the site via this link , under the heading “2025 applications” - “2025 pre-registration”.

The event is open to painters, sculptors, ceramists, photographers and others… No theme is imposed; everyone can give free rein to their creativity. Originality, artistic quality and coherence are the main criteria of the jury.

Any artist who has exhibited for 3 consecutive years at Cours & Jardins des Arts can only apply again after a minimum of 2 years of break and on condition that they present new works.

All applications must be accompanied by a payment of €10 for application fees (payment from the site by PayAsso). This amount will remain the property of the association. Applications not accompanied by payment of the application fees will not be considered.

The application file must include the following elements:

• biographical elements
• a brief presentation note of the artistic approach;
• 5 clear, high-definition photographs (300 DPI printing standard) of recent work that must correspond to the works that the artist would like to exhibit; if the artist's application is accepted, a photograph will be selected by the Cours & Jardins des Arts team for the future catalog from these 5 photos;
• the dimensions of the works to be exhibited, in order to best select the garden likely to receive them;
• multimedia documents, if they reflect the candidate's artistic practice.






Any incomplete file will not be taken into account.







Article 2 - Selection procedures




The selection of artists is carried out by the Cours & Jardins des Arts selection committee based on the applications received. The members of the selection committee are appointed by the office. If artists who are members of the office apply, they cannot be part of this jury.

The number of successful applications is around forty.

The selection will be announced to candidates in early March 2025.

The decisions of the selection committee cannot be appealed.







Article 3 – Final registration, participation in costs




Participation in the exhibition is a total of €60, i.e. €10 administration fee €50 registration fee. The balance of €50 will be paid by the selected artists (payment from the site by PayAsso) in order to validate their participation, before March 25, 2025, the payment deadline.




Any payment by check will only be considered valid if the check is accompanied by the last page of Regulation 2025 duly completed and signed.




Payment constitutes confirmation of the artist's participation in the event and therefore their firm and definitive registration.




For artists receiving RSA (upon presentation of proof), payment of participation fees will only serve as a guarantee of their participation; it will be returned to them at the end of the event (except in the event of unjustified early departure).










Article 4 – Production of the exhibition




The supports for the exhibition are provided by the artist. On request, grids can be made available for painters and photographers, within the limit of available quantities.




The works exhibited remain the sole responsibility of the exhibitor. The Town Hall, the organizers and the owners of the premises cannot be held responsible in any way in the event of damage, loss or theft of any nature whatsoever.




Exhibitors will have to return the location occupied during the exhibition in the same condition as they received it at the beginning of the exhibition.




The placement of the works in the village spaces is the responsibility of the association's managers. It cannot be contested by the artist. The association reserves the right to refuse a work that is not in conformity with the file that allowed the selection.




The costs of production, packaging and storage of the works are the responsibility of the artist. The hanging and insurance of the works is the responsibility of the artist.










Article 5 - Catalog




A catalogue (square format 21cm x 21 cm) is published on the occasion of the exhibition. Each artist selected and present will have a page on which will be published:

- a photo sharp and high definition ( 300 DPI printing standard) of a work, on a neutral background, without the artist being present in the photo. It can be cropped to the dimensions required by the model. It will be chosen by the members of the team of Arts Courses & Gardens, responsible for the layout of the catalog, among the 5 photos sent during the pre-selection, depending on the layout of the catalog (new layout in 2024 to better adapt to the format of the works).

- and one technical notice of 30 0 signs maximum (including spaces and punctuation) provided by the artist (You can use an online character counter to help you : https://xn--compteurdecaractres-5yb.fr/ ) .










Article 6 - Awarding of prizes




As part of the exhibition Arts Courses & Gardens , prizes will be awarded to the artists.




- The selection of winners for the first prize will be decided by a vote of a jury composed of professionals. Each member of this jury has one vote. The members of the professional jury are designated by the office: they are any person that the office considers qualified, whether or not they are a member of the association, professionals in the art market and artists (if this person is a member of the office, they cannot exhibit simultaneously). This prize may not be awarded to a member of the association's board of directors, nor to a close relative of said members.




- The winner of the so-called “public” prize is designated by the vote of visitors expressed on a participation bulletin which will be collected free of charge, without conditions, at the reception.




- The “Coup de Cœur” prize is offered by a private individual who wishes to remain anonymous. This prize has been awarded annually since 2013.




- Since 2021, a third prize is offered by SWIXIM Côté Soleil Real Estate (Castillon-du-Gard agency) ; it consists of a 2-month individual exhibition in the agency's premises (Rond-point de l'Estel). The winner is chosen by the agency's members.




- Since 2023, a fourth price is offered by THE Eujies Estate in Saint-Hilaire d'Ozilhan ; it consists of an individual exhibition of at least 1 month in the cellar. The winner is chosen by the Estate.




The designation of the winners may not be subject to any appeal.










Article 7 - Communication




Artists agree to cede reproduction rights works presented at Arts Courses & Gardens for the purpose of promoting their work and Arts Courses & Gardens (documents intended for the press, websites, catalogs, flyers). They authorize the members of the association Arts Courses & Gardens to take photographs of their installation during the festival and to distribute the application files to journalists.

Under no circumstances will these documents be used as sources of income for the association. Arts Courses & Gardens.










Article 8 - Conventional value of these regulations




All Registration is subject to acceptance of the regulations , including the page concerning clearance sales. These regulations are available at the association's headquarters Arts Courses & Gardens and on the website Arts Courses & Gardens - Regulations 2025 section .

Regulations applicable to clearance sales

1) Definition

Sales of goods made in premises or locations not intended for the sale of such goods to the public are considered to be clearance sales.

They are subject to a prior declaration to the mayor of the municipality on which the place of sale depends.

2) Sale of goods and place of sale

Any sale of new or used goods, carried out by professionals or non-professionals of an occasional or regular nature, regardless of whether or not it is preceded or accompanied by advertising, is considered to be a clearance sale, provided that it is carried out in particular places, i.e. outside the premises in which the products are usually sold. The sale must be carried out in premises or on locations not intended for the sale to the public of the goods concerned; therefore, the organisation by municipalities of sales carried out on the public road or public domain are considered to be clearance sales, provided that no title of occupation permanently intends them for a commercial activity.

3) Participation of individuals

Individuals not registered in the "Trade and Companies Register" are allowed to participate twice a year at most. They can only sell personal items.

4) Register allowing the identification of sellers

This register must include:

- when the person offering for sale is a natural person : his/her surname, first name, position, address, the nature, number and date of issue of the identity document with an indication of the authority which issued it;

- when it comes to a legal entity : the names, company name and registered office of the latter, as well as the names, first names, position and address of its representative, with the references of the identity document reproduced;

- The register must be numbered and initialed by the mayor of the municipality where the event is taking place. It must be kept available for the entire duration of the event to the tax services, customs and competition, consumer and fraud prevention services.

At the end of the event and at the latest within eight days, it must be filed with the prefecture of the location of the event.

Name and Surname (artist name):

Handwritten mention " read and approved » :

Place: date: Signature