Cactus Art Festival
Some creations are in no hurry to be recognized by the system.
Some art needs time, rather than results.
In 2026, at the Cactus Art Festival, certain things will be given a new definition.
1. What is the Cactus Art Festival?
The Cactus Art Festival is a conceptual extension of the "Cactus Project."
It continues the core philosophy of this long-term initiative —
Unfolding · Accumulating · Persisting.
Rather than focusing on "completion," the festival emphasizes the evolving state, the path, and the interim rhythms of creation.
Art creators and art practitioners who learn, create, and grow in a culture away from their own often possess a quality that resists quick judgment by conventional systems: a sense of slowness, cyclicality, endurance, and a steadfast commitment to their own pace.
The Cactus Art Festival is a space made for such a state of creation.
2. An Art Festival Centered on "Authentic Unfolding"
Unlike outcome-oriented exhibition structures, the Cactus Art Festival emphasizes "exhibition as event":
· Presenting the process and thinking behind the work
· Showcasing experimental stages and provisional judgments
· Allowing space for works that are unfinished, still emerging, or in flux
This is not a summation, but an "unfolding" made visible.
3. Festival Basic Information
Dates
July 27 – August 2, 2026
Venue
Carré à la Farine, Versailles, France
70 bis Rue de la Paroisse, 78000 Versailles
Organizers
ADM Art & Project
Carré à la Farine Cultural & Art Space
Festival Execution and Curation
ADM Art & Project
Project Co-production
Atelier/Galerie ADM
Post flamand Culture
Post flamand Art Space
Media Support
Versailles City Magazine
IMPETUOUS Magazine
Visual Design
Hu Yuanger Studio
4. Program Sections Overview
🔹 Invited Artists Section | CACTUS BEING
This section invites artists who have established their practice direction and possess a clear career trajectory. Works are presented thematically, showcasing their developed artistic vocabulary while emphasizing the methods and choices within their long-term practice. This is a presentation of "maturity not being an endpoint."
🔹 Independent Artists Section | CACTUS INDEPENDENT
An independent section named after the festival's venue — this is a highly open exhibition section with no restrictions on medium, subject matter, or year of creation.
The only requirement:
All works are presented in Carré (square) format, responding to the venue's name and its historical structure.
🔹 Cactus Project Section | CACTUS PROJECT
This section reviews and presents:
The ongoing young curator and artist promotion initiative launched by Houflamand Culture since 2020.
Through archival materials, images, project documentation, and more, it presents how a project unfolds, adjusts, and evolves over time.
🔹 Cactus Kids Section | CACTUS KIDS
An extremely important section that is not "simplified" — this section is designed for children and adolescents with a strong sense of self-expression, offering them an authentic exhibition experience with clear themes, logic, and curated relationships among works.
A space where those willing to grow at their own pace are taken seriously.
5. Events During the Art Festival
Beyond the exhibition, the Cactus Art Festival places equal emphasis on exchange, practice, and the creation of shared experiences.
Throughout the festival, a series of open events will be held, centered around the project’s vision and the exhibition space.
Cactus Talk
Live-streamed or in-person talks and conversations featuring curators, artists, architects, and practitioners from related fields. Discussions will focus on festival case studies, creative experiences, curatorial approaches, the French art scene, and the history and culture of the Versailles region.
Cactus Workshop
Art practice workshops led by artists working across different media and creative backgrounds. Integrating the exhibition theme and the context of the venue, participants will engage in creative experiments and landscape sketching in the Versailles area.
Cactus enfant atelier (Children's Workshop)
An artistic practice session designed for children and young people. Centered around the festival’s theme, participants will create onsite, guided to observe, express, and organize their personal experiences—allowing children to truly take part in the festival, not merely as accompanying visitors.
6. Further Engagement
The Cactus Art Festival is not a closed curatorial outcome, but a project still in the process of growing.
If you are drawn to the vision, structure, or rhythm of this project—
whether you are an artist, curator, parent,
or an institution engaged in art education and cultural practice—
please feel free to reach out to us via email.
About Carré à la Farine (Venue Introduction)
Located in the historic district of Versailles, Carré à la Farine is a public cultural space that carries the city's collective memory. Built in the 18th century, it originally served as a public grain storage and trading facility—the word "Farine" (flour) in its name is a remnant of its historical function. Over time, as the city evolved, it gradually transformed from a functional public building into a contemporary cultural and art exhibition space. Today, it is managed by the City of Versailles and regularly hosts contemporary art exhibitions and public cultural programs, serving as an important link between history and the present.
6 bis Rue Coste, 78000 Versailles
E-Mail: atelieradm.2025@gmail.com