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Origin and history

The Maison Jean Vilar, inaugurated on 18 July 1979, is a cultural place dedicated to the work of Jean Vilar (founder of the Avignon Festival and the NPT) and the history of contemporary theatre. It was founded by a quadripartite agreement signed on 12 December 1977 between the Association Jean Vilar, the City of Avignon, the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) and the Ministry of Culture, for a period of 30 years. His initial objective was to preserve and enhance Vilar's archives, while documenting the Avignon Festival and regional artistic life.

The project took root in 1971, after the death of Jean Vilar, when Paul Puaux (then director of the Festival) created the Association for a Fondation Jean Vilar. Thanks to the donation of Vilar's archives by his widow, Andrée Vilar, and to the expertise of André Veinstein (specialist in performing arts), a library-museum project was created. In 1974, the Town of Avignon acquired the Hotel de Crochans, a 17th century mansion classified as a historical monument, to install the House. The development works were led by architect Jacques Bosson and opened in 1979.

The Hotel de Crochans, built between 1671 and 1735 by the Crochans family on the foundations of an ancient 14th century cardinalry, is an example of Provencal classical architecture. Its monumental portal, designed by Pierre Mignard II in 1680, and its calade courtyard (traditional pavement) have been listed as historic monuments since 1972. The building successively housed a revolutionary assembly, the archdiocese (1823-1905), then the Agricultural Social Mutuality before being bought by the City in 1976 for the Maison Jean Vilar.

The Maison Jean Vilar fulfils five main tasks: to preserve the archives of Jean Vilar and the Festival d'Avignon (programmes, posters, costumes, photographs), to document the regional theatre (including OFF), to organize exhibitions and meetings, and to make available a fund specialized in performing arts. Its collections include 34,000 books, 18,000 posters, 22,985 photographs, and audiovisual holdings. The association and the BnF collaborate to animate the place, with the support of the City and the Ministry of Culture.

Between 2020 and 2022, the Maison closes for work on standards (accessibility, security), before reopening on 13 May 2022 with a renewed program. Today, it hosts exhibitions, readings, conferences and partnerships with structures such as the Winter Festival or the University of Avignon. Its hanging garden, classical facade and historic salons make it an emblematic place of French theatre heritage.

Future

The Maison Jean Vilar is the custodian of the Jean Vilar fonds, which consists of the personal archives of Jean Vilar, the models and costumes of the shows he created in Avignon from 1947 and the Théâtre national populaire in Chaillot, which he directed from 1951 to 1963.

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