Château de Monthelon is an “Atelier de fabrique artistique” (artistic workshop) officially recognized as such by the French Ministry of Culture. Located on an exceptional 5-hectare site overlooking the Serein valley, in the rural area of Terre Plaine, combining 17th-century architecture with vast open skies, Monthelon develops a professional artistic activity locally that reaches an international audience.
Sheltered from urban bustle and production-driven logic, the château’s isolation and its panoramic setting offer an environment conducive to introspection, inspiration, and creative work. The original project gave rise to a place of creation with no equivalent in the French or international cultural landscape.
Origins
A former holiday camp whose doors had been closed for years, Château de Monthelon was restored in 1989 by Eva and Ueli Hirzel, who founded a place of welcome dedicated to experimentation and research — as exists elsewhere for the sciences — open to artists from around the world. Ueli Hirzel imprinted it with his philosophy: to defend “the upstream of the upstream,” that fragile and precious moment preceding the creative process, with no obligation to produce a result. Circus show producer, he opened Monthelon to all artistic disciplines: dance, theatre, music, visual arts, writing…
Distinctive in its way of operating, in the constant reinvention of its modes of presentation, in its hospitality, conviviality, and intrinsic beauty, Château de Monthelon is in constant development.
In 2009, the running of Monthelon’s cultural project became association-led with the creation of the Association du Château de Monthelon. Conceived and driven by artists, the association carries forward the site’s purpose and defends its philosophy. The Association du Château de Monthelon is recognized as being of general interest (“intérêt général”).
In 2019, the association became the owner of the château, marking a turning point in the site’s history and initiating major renovations with the support of public partners (DRAC BFC, Région BFC, CD Yonne, Pays Avallonnais, Communauté de Communes du Serein).
The Project
For over 30 years, Monthelon has been making its workspaces available to professional artists, guided by the same philosophy: defending the need for emptiness before the first gesture of an artistic creation, without requiring anything in return. The need to experiment, to attempt, to create as a way of responding to an urgency of our times and to economic pressure.
Creative residencies – Monthelon hosts an average of 50 professional artistic projects per year, drawn from a multitude of nationalities. With a strong focus on circus arts, the artistic project is multidisciplinary, with particular attention to innovative forms of expression and diverse dramaturgies in theatre, dance, music, visual arts, film, and literature.
Community outreach – By offering workshops and activities year-round for a wide range of audiences (schoolchildren, people with disabilities, the elderly, prison inmates), Monthelon builds, together with local communities, the idea of a culture by and for everyone.
Finally, Monthelon is also an open place that welcomes the public throughout the year (residency showings, the Rencontres de Monthelon, one-off events on-site such as the monthly open days held on the first Saturday of every month or elsewhere). Our activities in detail
A distinctive feature of the place, Monthelon is home to three families of artists. Committed on a daily basis, they have chosen to live on-site and to voluntarily take on roles in artistic direction, hospitality, and stewardship of the estate. Their daily presence gives the place its very particular spirit — always in motion, and truly unique.