International Sculpture Festival

The International Sculpture Festival: Montauban at the heart of creation

The city of Montauban has had a special connection with sculpture for centuries. The birthplace of Antoine Bourdelle (1861-1929), one of the greatest French sculptors of modernity and a master to Alberto Giacometti and Henri Matisse, Montauban is naturally destined to host a festival dedicated to this major art form. The International Sculpture Festival perpetuates this heritage by integrating contemporary sculpture into the urban and heritage fabric of the Montauban city.

Organized over two weeks in early summer, the festival takes over several emblematic sites in Montauban: the Maison du Crieur, the Espace Bourdelle — a museum dedicated to the work of the master native of Montauban — and the Espace des Augustins, a former Augustinian convent transformed into a cultural exhibition space. The entire city thus becomes a temporary open-air museum, accessible to all.

Sculptors in action before the public

One of the unique features of the International Sculpture Festival is the emphasis placed on live demonstrations. French and foreign sculptors work in public, revealing their creative process, techniques, and materials. The public witnesses the birth of a work in real-time: direct carving in stone, clay modeling, metal assembly, wood working.

These live creation sessions are a valuable educational moment, demystifying artistic practice and creating a direct link between artists and visitors of all ages. Children in particular are invited to get closer, ask questions, and sometimes even touch the materials at work.

Participatory workshops

In addition to demonstrations, the festival offers artistic practice workshops led by invited sculptors or specialized instructors. These workshops, accessible to both adults and children, provide an introduction to various sculptural techniques in a friendly and creative atmosphere. School sessions are also organized in conjunction with local educational institutions.

A unifying theme for each edition

Each edition of the festival is organized around a unifying theme that guides artist invitations and shapes the exhibition program. In 2025, the chosen theme was “Complementarity”, a concept that explores the relationships between forms, materials, solids and voids, opposites that complement each other, and differences that enrich each other.

This thematic thread gives intellectual and aesthetic coherence to the entire event, while allowing artists complete freedom of interpretation and creation.

A festival in the city, a city in sculpture

Beyond the dedicated exhibition spaces, the festival invests Montauban's public space by installing monumental works in the streets, squares, and gardens of the city. These temporary installations transform the daily lives of residents and invite passers-by to see their environment with fresh eyes.

Some works created during the festival are then permanently integrated into Montauban's sculpted heritage, enriching the open-air sculpture park that the city builds up over the editions.

Montauban, city of arts and Bourdelle

The legacy of Antoine Bourdelle hangs over the festival as a reference and an invitation. The Bourdelle Museum, located in the sculptor's birthplace, and the Espace Bourdelle, which houses works and archives of the master, are at the heart of the festival's organization. Thematic guided tours allow visitors to connect the work of the invited contemporary sculptors with the great Montauban sculptural tradition.