Location

Since the 1850s, Pont-Aven has been renowned as an international artist's colony. Paul Gauguin, its best known artist-in-residence, was but one among many. Pont-Aven is a village of 3,000 located on the Aven River, nine kilometers inland from the south coast of Brittany on the Atlantic Ocean. The setting offers artists stunning natural beauty, from wide, white sand beaches and dramatic coastal cliffs to rolling green hills marked by ancient stone walls, thatched roofed farmhouses, and brilliantly colored flowers. The ancient standing stones of Carnac, remnants of the Druidic past, the stories of Merlin and King Arthur, 16th century granite chapels, Celtic traditions in music, dance, language and legends, and the French joie de vivre all combine to create an inescapable sense of place.

The Musée de Pont-Aven is world-renowned and is a strong resource for PASCA students. Art history comes alive here, as contemporary artists appropriate the past to convey new concepts.