To mark the centenary of the opening of the 1925 International Exhibition of Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris, the Greater Nancy area is donning the colors of Art Deco all year long!
Spearheaded by the Greater Nancy metropolitan authority, the inaugural weekend—from April 25 to 28, 2025—officially launches a year of festivities dedicated to Art Deco. The entire region will come alive with a rich and diverse program: guided tours, architectural walks, lectures, exhibitions, and concerts will invite the public to (re)discover Nancy’s Art Deco heritage in all its facets.
Beyond its national outreach, the festival also aims “to enable the people of Greater Nancy to reclaim a largely overlooked chapter of their architectural legacy,” notes Hocine Chabira, Vice President for Cultural Development of the metropolitan area. The territory is home to some 1,300 Art Deco buildings, a selection of which—including the Domaine de l’Asnée in Villers-lès-Nancy, the Magasins Réunis, Paul-Louis Cyfflé High School, and the Museum-Aquarium in Nancy—will be showcased throughout the year across a variety of platforms.
Domaine de l’Asnée, Villers-lès-Nancy © Greater Nancy Metropolitan Authority / Christophe Cossin
Les Magasins Réunis, © Nancy Tourist Office
The Nancy and Eastern France Pavilion at the 1925 Exposition of Decorative Arts, © BHdV / Roger-Viollet
Nancy, a Laboratory of Art Deco
The ducal city is home to numerous buildings marked by Art Deco lines, most of which were constructed around the 1920s. This style asserted itself through a refined aesthetic that favored geometric motifs, while still embracing curves and the sophistication of intricate details. Brought into the spotlight during the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris, Art Deco bridged the ornate exuberance of Art Nouveau and the formal discipline of modern architecture.
Nancy and the Lorraine region were represented at the exhibition by a regional pavilion whose architecture, furnishings, and displayed artworks embodied the artistic renewal of the interwar period.
At the crossroads of these stylistic movements, Nancy became a stage for architectural experimentation in the field of decorative arts. As a fundamentally urban aesthetic, Art Deco extended far beyond façades, finding expression in furniture, stained glass, sculpture, and even textiles—rising to the level of a total art form that brought beauty and elegance into everyday life.
Camille Buzon
