THE PROMOTION AND CONSUMPTION OF ARTISTIC PLACES IN FRANCE

Abstract

AbstractHeritage places figure strongly as visitor attractions at a time when both the demand for, and supply of, such attractions continue to grow. Heritage places take many forms, from spectacular sites such as castles and abbeys to sites that have no particular significance until the events or people associated with them are known. Artistic places often fall into this latter category. Their significance derives from links with the life of an artist, a birthplace or former residence, or, by association with the landscapes or scenes depicted in an artist's work. Painting is a visual form of art and particular representations of landscape have some qualities of heritage in themselves, people may feel that they ‘know’ places without ever having been there from their representations in paintings. Connections of this kind allow artistic places to be marketed as tourist attractions. Such marketing raises issues such as the social construction of heritage and the authenticity. There are also questions on the ways in which an artistic place is ‘consumed’ by visitors. Why do they come to such towns in the first place? How much ‘cultural competence’ do they bring with them? How do they use the town and its artistic connections during their visit? Studies of four towns in France which have and use these artistic connections as parts of place promotion strategies are used to examine these questions.