Every May the Collection Gelonch Viladegut has an appointment programmed in Montolieu, a village of the Department of Aude in the Region Languedoc-Roussillon, in the Southeast of France, a village that is auto qualified as a village of the book. A village that astonishes for your dynamism, for the push of the people of the Musée des Arts et Métiers du Livre and for the amiability and reception of those who visit the exhibition.

In the year 2012 we initiate a cycle of exhibitions under the generic title of “The permanency of the engraving “. This cycle has been formed in a chronological way and it has allowed presenting a great variety of artists and of technologies about the topic of the engraving. So that in this cycle of three years we have done three exhibitions: “From Durer to Goya “,” From Goya to Picasso “and” From Picasso to the present day “. Approximately 200 engravers have been represented and presented and could have benefited hundreds of students of the pedagogic visits and of the workshops that have been organized as complement of the exhibition.

It turns out interesting to know that Montolieu is a village of approximately 700 inhabitants that have 15 bookshops of old books and occasion and that is a center of cultural agitation in this rural and peripheral department of the south of France, which has as reference to Carcassonne’s city. And also it turns out interesting to know that the mentioned Musée that receives the exhibitions of the Collection is managed by an association, which passes your distresses and which has difficulties in order that everything fits and, very specially, the economy.

Too often all of us, and this fault also it has this blog; we speak about the big cultural infrastructures and about the big artists, because they are more present in the mass media and because it turns out to be more ‘in’ to speak on them. This disposition exists in wanting to be always to the last one, but on the other hand, often interests rather few people… And, on the other hand, we give few attentions to the associative movement or to the artists fewer acquaintances who are those who really give us the tone of our cultural vitality and who allow that the extension of the culture should be a reality.

And the association “Montolieu, village du livre “, that manages the mentioned Musée, is an example in this aspect. With few economic means (maybe too scanty), with slightly personal (with all certainty, too scanty) and without campaigns of advertising, they are capable of attracting every year more than 4.000 persons who visit the exhibitions programmed with funds of the Collection. In name of the culture and of the civilization, thanks a lot for your service.

The Collection lives through a good moment regarding expositive presence. This year, for example, there will be exhibitions in Paris and Barcelona and next year in Miami, but the Collection follows public investment with Montolieu, your Museum and your people and this year will return to be present there. Because it is important what they do and since they do it and because a good ‘entente’ exists. Now, we will have to starting speaking together on the continuity of this joint adventure in favor of the diffusion of the art. We will make it taking a ‘Muscat’ in the shade of the trees in the Republic Square of Montolieu. Pros and a long life!