REASONS TO VISIT VISION ART FESTIVAL IN CRANS MONTANA
When we think of Urban art festivals the last thing that sprung to mind is that it would be in the scenic mountain resort of Crans Montana located in the heart of the Valais canton.
Switzerland probably isn’t the first place you’d look for one of the world’s best art festivals, and yet that’s exactly what you’ll find in the pretty town of Crans Montana.
Founded in 2015 by Gregory Pages, Vision Arts Festival has provided a platform for some of the world’s best urban artists to literally take their creativity into new heights. Blending art and nature together to create something fresh and new – an open-air art gallery stretched from 1500 to 3000m above sea level.
Bicicleta Sem Freio
Vision Art Festival is the only Urban art festival high-up on the mountains and this summer they celebrated their 5th anniversary and more than 80 walls were painted by artists from all over the world from countries including Germany, Brasil, Iran, Ivory Coast and Holland – all creating original and innovative works.
Antonyo Marest
If you’re exhausted from taking in all that fresh Swiss air on your route to find the works then we recommend popping into the stunning 5 star Crans Ambassador for a spot of lunch, brilliant views of the valley and to check out the indoor exhibition. Taking old-style solar panels, that are out of use and hard to recycle, the Vision Arts Team have given their visiting artists the task of turning them into original artworks. Each piece, on display at the hotel for around 3 months, will be auctioned off to raise money for lighting charities that provide clever solar lighting for families in areas where power is scarce and fuel lamps cause fires.
Mohamed L Gacham
The festival celebrates creativity and originality actively connecting and building relationships between artists and the Crans Montana community through high-quality public art. The artworks can be seen all year round, so whether you are on the slopes during ski season, hiking the mountains during the summer or taking the ski lifts just to get the views up at the Plaine Morte Glacier you’ll pass beautiful works en-route.
Raws
The 2019 artist line-up was:
ICY and SOT ( Iran-USA) Best Message Street Art Awards 2018 – sculpture
@icyandsot
www.icyandsot.com
RAWS (Germany)
@rawsofficial
www.rawsone.com
BICICLETA SEM FREIO ( Brasil)
@bicicletasemfreio
www.bicicletasemfreio.com
MOHAMED L’GHACHEM ( Spain)
@mohamedlghacham
www.mohamedlghacham.com
QUINTESSENZ (Germany) – installation déjà en place à la rue de la Gare
@quinte55enz
www.quintessenz.art
LEON KEER ( Holland) Best Artist Street Art Awards 2018 – Land’Art
@leonkeer
www.leonkeer.com
JASM ONE ( Switzerland ) and LOS BITCHOS for a special project
@jasm_one
www.jasm1.com
ANTONYO MAREST ( Spain)
@antonyomarest
www.antonyomarest.es
MEDERIC TURAY ( Ivory Coast) )
@mederituray
www.medericturay.com
Crans-Montana is a chic all-year-round mountain resort located in the Valais canton of Switzerland, around a two-hour train ride from Geneva Airport.
We stayed at the Alpine-style Olympic Hotel in the centre of the resort where prices start from £86 for a single room in low season. Each hotel and B&B offers residents a free My Explorer Card that gives you free entry on to the chair lifts and to other attractions available within the municipality.
Getting around:
The Swiss Travel System provides a dedicated range of travel passes and tickets exclusively for
visitors from abroad.
The Swiss Travel Pass offers unlimited travel on consecutive days throughout the rail, bus and boat Swiss Travel System network. This pass also covers scenic routes and local trams and buses in around 90 towns and cities. The Swiss Travel Pass also includes the Swiss Museum Pass, allowing you free entrance to 500 museums and exhibitions. Prices from £185 in second class.
