Extending the 3rd edition of the Les Grands Récits festival, held from June 5 to 7 in Auxerre, 2026, the Centre Pompidou invites visitors to immerse themselves in the imaginary world of the sea in the 20th and 21st centuries. Taking its title from a line in Charles Baudelaire’s poem L'Homme et la Mer (Man and the Sea), "La mer est ton miroir" (The sea is your mirror) invites a poetic reflection on nature as much as on our own existence.
From Robert Delaunay (1885–1941) to Hicham Berrada (born 1986), some twenty works – paintings, videos, installations, design… – are nestled within the heart of the monastic architecture, echoing its own collections, whilst the chapter house hosts a site-specific work created especially for the occasion by the visual artist Nicolas Floc’h (born in 1970).