The origins of the village of Champion go back to the Gallo-Roman period. In 1836, a classical-style castle was bought by the Congregation of the Sisters of Providence, who founded an important school there. From the second half of the 19th century, the school housed a painting and drawing workshop, exclusively for women, intended in particular for the artistic training of future teachers who lived there as boarders. The school is bordered by a park in the English landscape style, which is a source of inspiration. Today, this park retains its 19th century charm and many heritage features (remarkable old trees, plant labyrinth, chapel, grotto, religious community cemetery, crypt, etc.). The school, which today has 2,500 pupils, continues to structure the village centre. The village is rich in varied atmospheres, contrasts between an environment that has remained rural and the nearby urban world… The fields and meadows are numerous and the village has a water tower as a “beacon”… The Villa Josa is the headquarters of the non-profit organisation Lieux-Communs and is a former Belle Epoque hotel-restaurant listed in the Walloon heritage inventory. It contains art nouveau furniture by the Belgian architect and decorator Gustave Serrurier-Bovy.
The Villa Josa is a place of exhibition, reception and residence for invited artists who work in particular on the territory and the landscape.
The winner of the open-air painting prize Par un beau jour, organised every two years, exhibits his or her paintings there. The title of the prize is inspired by Victor Hugo’s travel reports in Belgium in 1839.
Since 2017, the international contemporary art biennial In Champion has taken over many of the village’s emblematic locations. In addition to the temporary works presented during the biennials, a permanent artistic network has been created with, to date, the works of artists Julie Digard, Palieter Hillewaere, Sophie Le Grand, Florence Lenain, Ludovic Mennesson, Pascale Marthine Tayou…
Over the course of the editions of In Champion, the ambition is to make Champion an open-air arts district. In keeping with the history of the site, the aim is to build an innovative and contemporary form of residence and artists’ colony in Champion.
Questions linked to the relationship between man and his environment, the notion of landscape and the evolution of ecosystems are at the heart of the practice of many contemporary artists.
