À propos – Les Jeux de Dames

An agency committed artists

Dedicated to supporting women's creative work, the Jeux de Dames artistic agency was set up in Fontainebleau to mark International Women's Rights Day in 2015.

Initiated by a handful of friends, the adventure began with the ambitious project of designing an art exhibition to be displayed in the town's shop windows. The aim was threefold: to promote women's creative work, to help artists find exhibition spaces and to liven up the city centre by creating links between shopkeepers, artists and passers-by.

The challenge of this first edition was a success: the work of the artists and craftsmen was showcased, the shopkeepers benefited from a beautiful spotlight, and for the public, it was an opportunity to dream and to approach art with greater ease. les commerçants bénéficièrent d’une belle mise en lumière, et, pour le public, ce fut l’occasion de rêver et d’aborder l’art avec plus de facilité.

Since then, Jeux de Dames has continued to pursue this objective of sharing and promoting, and now has over 200 members. From the visual arts to arts and crafts, photography, literature, music and theatre: it covers a wide range of creative fields.

And now we've added the ambition of breathing the same creative energy into other towns!

Jeux de Dames has been staging its annual event in the shop windows of Bellifontaine since 2015. In 2016, the number of participants doubled to 130 shopkeepers and as many artists.

As it has grown, this ephemeral artistic space has considerably enhanced the public's experience of wandering. Whether wandering the streets at random, or taking a planned stroll with the help of a map provided by the association, this event attracts more and more visitors every year.

The event has grown in size and has become an opportunity for shopkeepers and designers to reflect on how to present their shop windows. Many of the designs, both narrative and poetic, have made a real impact.

The event is now giving rise to a number of fruitful artistic collaborations, and works are also being created for the event, which is itself becoming the subject of creation: a shoe shop has been home to endearing paper shoes, and a fishmonger's shop has played host to sublime portraits of aquatic vertebrates...

These innovative projects, which encourage the democratisation of women's art, are proving increasingly popular with participants and visitors alike. Traders and artists get more involved every year. Each edition features literary events, theatre shows, concerts and performances.

A sign of success, 2018 saw the event extended to the city of Melun. With the support of the town hall, 42 enthusiastic shops welcomed the work of 51 artists and craftswomen. The first edition will be repeated in November 2019, with 54 shopkeepers opening their windows to 56 creative artists.

City scale exhibitions

Events all year round

In addition to the major annual exhibition in the windows, a number of events organised or supported by Jeux de Dames punctuate the year: unexpected exhibitions in unusual locations, unique artistic performances, readings...

One of these is the Salon des Créatrices, which has become a not-to-be-missed event, following on from the big show in the windows. For two days, some forty members of Jeux de Dames take over the lounges and forecourt of the Hôtel l'Aigle Noir for a colourful and eagerly-awaited exhibition and sale.

The Journées Européennes des Métiers d'Arts 2019 is another highlight. Jeux de Dames supported its craftsmen and orchestrated the presentation of their work - and that of some male guests - in the enchanting setting of the Château de Rosa Bonheur, in Thomery.

Lutherie, jewellery, embroidery, ceramics, engraving and leather goods were all showcased in a bucolic display of work by the twenty or so participants. These were intense days of sharing, marked by numerous demonstrations for visitors.

Jeux de Dames also reached beyond its ‘borders’, in the summer of 2018, in the Vendée. In Réaumur, 19 creative artists were welcomed to the Manoir des Sciences. It was an enchanting experience, combining painting, photography, ceramics, straw marquetry, paper cut-outs and plant sculpture. All of which echoed the research of René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur, an illustrious scientist from the Age of Enlightenment.