JEAN BLAISE
Jean Blaise has been involved with cultural programming for over 30 years and in that time Nantes has been his main workshop-cum-playground. Although Nantes is the town that gave him the chance to experiment and to create numerous new projects, his influence can be found elsewhere too. In 2011 he widened his scope and stepped into tourism as head of the public sector funded Le Voyage à Nantes. In three decades Jean Blaise has managed to popularise art and install an acceptance of it in the town. By doing so, he has legitimised art as a driving force for tourism– an achievement that perhaps only exists here. He is a pioneering avant-gardist who has, over the years, become a reference in the professional world of culture, tourism and development; the urban poet’s way. Previously, he was appointed Chairman of the National Mission for Art and Culture in the Public Space (MNACEP), while he has two books devoted to his work.