2025 | D137 Art club

An event the entire city has been eagerly awaiting! The opening of the Museum of Remembrance in Annemasse in November 2025.

Posted in 11/08/2025 by Olga

THE PAX PRISON — A HIGHLY SYMBOLIC PLACE OF THE RESISTANCE
At the end of December 1942, Italian soldiers occupied Annemasse. They requisitioned a hosiery factory located at 21 Avenue de la Gare and used the basement to imprison political opponents.

But in September 1943, the Italians left and German occupation troops took their place. Soldiers from the “SS Polizei Regiment Todt” set up headquarters at the Hôtel Pax, while the hosiery factory just across the street was converted into a prison.

It became the main prison of the department during the Second World War, with hundreds of people detained there. The prison register lists 736 names, though not all prisoners were recorded. Among them were members of the Resistance and Jewish people — including 39 children.

Some of the prisoners were murdered, others released, but most were transferred to the Montluc Prison before being deported to concentration and extermination camps.

Such was the fate of Mila Racine (Born in Moscow and arrived in Paris with her family in 1926), a young member of the Resistance who saved many Jewish children by helping them cross the Swiss border illegally. Arrested on October 22, 1943, she was imprisoned in the Pax Prison and later deported to the Mauthausen camp, where she died under Allied bombings just a few days before the liberation of the camps.

After Mila Racine’s arrest, Marianne Cohn took over her mission. This young resistant also saved many Jewish children, but she was arrested on June 1 together with a group of children.

The mayor, Jean Deffaugt, managed to secure the release of the youngest ones and offered to help Marianne escape. She refused, fearing reprisals against the children. Tortured, she never spoke, and she was murdered at Ville-la-Grand on July 8, 1944, along with five other prisoners.

FROM THE PAX PRISON TO THE HOUSE OF MEMORIES — A PLACE OF COLLECTIVE REMEMBRANCE
The symbolic transformation of the former Pax Prison into the House of Memories breathes new life into a site steeped in history — a witness to the darkest hours of the region during the Second World War and to the heroic acts of the Resistance.

This redesigned institution will serve to gather and transmit the heritage of Annemasse, ensuring that the memory of those times continues to live on.

A MODERN AND INTERACTIVE MEMORIAL EXPERIENCE
The House of Memories features a 120 m² interpretation center, completely reimagined to offer an immersive and educational experience.

The building’s exterior façade, the only remaining original element, has been carefully restored to its historical appearance, including the reconstruction of the first-floor balcony.

A museum itinerary, supported by modern and interactive scenography, makes the history of the site during the Second World War accessible to all visitors.

Sources:

Annemasse’s official website: https://www.annemasse.fr/

National Artists Days of France JNA 2025

Posted in 09/09/2025 by Olga

The FABLE Association took part in the first day of the National Days of Artists of France (JNA 2025) with an exhibition featuring works by association members Naser Dushica and Sergeev.

This exhibition was the only one held in the city as part of this event.
FABLE Association intends to participate again next year, as it considers the National Days of Artists of France to be an excellent and meaningful initiative.

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Space and Body

Posted in 01/31/2025 by Olga

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Space and Body is a project by the FABLE association (France, Art, Beauty, Freedom of Expression), presenting an exhibition by renowned painter and one of the association’s founders, Sergey Sergeev.

FABLE highlights the works of a collective of artists from around the world, all united by a shared passion for French culture. Created with the goal of building cultural bridges between different artistic disciplines and enriching the diversity of contemporary expression, FABLE organizes exhibitions, performances, and various cultural events.

Founded in 2024, FABLE continues the activities of the D137 art club, established in 1996 in Saint Petersburg as a contemporary art gallery, which later became a cultural landmark. Over this period, nearly two hundred exhibitions took place, accompanied by conferences, concerts, and numerous published catalogs. Prestigious collaborations were also established with cultural institutions such as the Goethe-Institut in Saint Petersburg, the Finnish Institute, and the consulates of the United Kingdom, Finland, Germany, and the United States, leading to unique projects in the heart of the city.

FABLE has already formed partnerships with several cultural institutions and galleries in France, including the Galerie des Écuries de Saint-Hugues in Cluny, where an exhibition attracted more than 5,500 visitors.

The cover features a photograph of a performance by Swiss artist and dancer Nina Vitanova (www.ninavita.art), presented during the FABLE exhibition in Cluny in July 2024 (photographer: Christian Steiner).

Sergeev and Vitanova have been collaborating since the early 2000s, and a joint exhibition accompanied by a performance could emerge within the Espace et Corps project. This exhibition would highlight two artists with different origins and artistic backgrounds, living in different countries, yet united by their love for France and its culture. Their works, which span various media—painting, photography, and performance—offer a journey through the richness of contemporary practices, initiating a dialogue between diverse cultures.

Sergeev and Vitanova each employ unique techniques in their visual creations, yet their works converge through a shared depth of thought. Their inner worlds intertwine, each evolving within a universe they have shaped—a landscape of imagination that echoes the mental landscapes of humanity, the stars, the moon, and the cosmos.