Les acteurs des métiers du texte et de l’image sont plus que jamais sollicités par les défis que représentent les nouvelles technologies de l’information et de la communication. Les enjeux économiques et qualitatifs qui s’ensuivent pour la culture et les arts scripto-visuels sont essentiels.

L’association des Rencontres internationales de Lure regroupe des professionnels des métiers de l’imprimé, des arts visuels, audiovisuels et multimédia, ainsi que des formateurs et chercheurs dans ces mêmes domaines. C’est à la fois un observatoire, un carrefour et un forum qui s’efforce de faire partager à ses membres, tant français qu’étrangers, le travail, l’expérience et le regard de chacun.

Elle organise des rencontres d’été en Haute-Provence, des rendez-vous mensuels à Paris, des voyages culturels, elle édite également un bulletin d’information et propose un site Internet.

Les Rencontres internationales de Lure constituent pour tous un lieu ouvert d’information et d’échanges libre de toute pression commerciale. L’association veille ainsi, tout en s’impliquant dans la dynamique des évolutions, à préserver et à diffuser une curiosité graphique qui habite la culture de l’écrit depuis la naissance de l’humanisme. Tous ceux dont la lettre et l’image ne sont pas la spécialité (bien qu’ils soient de plus en plus amenés à les manipuler) doivent également avoir la possibilité d’accéder à une culture de la lettre qui dépasse largement le cadre strictement technique.

La curiosité prospective des Rencontres de Lure s’appuie sur une culture patrimoniale de l’écriture et de l’image, forte de l’expérience d’un ensemble d’artistes de la typographie et des métiers du livre : ce groupe informel a été lancé, il y a plus de cinquante ans, près de la montagne de Lure, à Lurs, en Provence, par Maximilien Vox, autour de la classification des caractères et de la qualité artistique des métiers de l’imprimé.

Autour des activités typographiques, graphiques et multimédia, l’association – essentiellement francophone à l’origine – est rapidement devenue un carrefour international d’échanges privilégiés, de confrontation, de réflexion et de proposition.

ADRESSE :
Rencontres internationales de Lure
La Chancellerie
04700 LURS

—=—=—=—=—=—=—=—=—=—=—=—=—=—=—=—=—=—=—=—=—

The Rencontres 
internationales 
de Lure : A Type Society. 
The Rencontres address 
writing, its evolution 
and its various shapes 
(in typography, literature, 
visual and digital creations).
They provide an opportunity 
to participate in seminars, 
to keep up to date on current research and to share ideas 
and knowledge. Every summer, the week at Lurs 
gathers some thirty speakers 
whose presentations deal with 
the various facets of a given theme.

• Why are the Rencontres de Lure 
typographical ? rather than any other word 
ending in –ical

  Typo­graphy gives the word body, style, personality. Among all the occupations that consist in sharing know­ledge and creating links through writing, it is the smallest common denominator. That is why the Rencontres de Lure gather font creators, of course, but also graphic designers, publishers, printers, writers, educators, researchers, advertisers, information designers and any free spirit who understands what Maximilien Vox, one of the founders of the Rencontres de Lure, meant when he said : “Typography is a discipline of the mind”.

• Why are the Rencontres de Lure international ? and why they are more and more so

  The “naturally curious” always feel the urge to learn more about what startles them, what they find surprising, disconcerting, intringuing. They happily disregard linguistic or cultural barriers, and refuse those who separate generations, disciplines or professional environments. This determination to open its perimeters was one of the founding principles of the association, and though the Rencontres internationales de Lure take place mainly in French, there is always someone to interpret for international members, so they can express themselves in their own languages.

• Why are the Rencontres de Lure meetings ? and meetings are important, aren’t they…

  An encounter is all about establishing contact with another human being, it opens up a new space, arouses the imagination, stimulates one’s senses and curiosity, upsets the applecart of our routines and misconceptions.
  True encounters are unexpected, and yet at Lure, they’ve happened again and again : they are characterized by a spirit of independence and authenticity, far from the formatted discourse of self interest. Lure is 60 years of encounters that have spun webs of collaboration, projects, creations, shared ideas, solidarities and friendships.

• Why are the Rencontres de Lure “Lure encounters” ? because of a coin, an epiphany and…

  Because of a coin… which Jean Giono, still a child, had in his pocket, when he went off alone to look for his first job. There he was, at five in the morning, crossing the mountain of Lure on a donkey’s back, leading horses to the town fair. His first journey, and a landscape that he would never forget. Years later, he returned, bringing his friends with him… including Maximilien Vox. When, along with the typographer Jean Garcia, they visited the old village of Lurs in ruins, they climbed up to a promontory, where they saw two magnificent land­scapes : to the west, the mountain of Lure ; to the east, the Durance valley. Both dazzled them. They continued to share this “epiphany” with others, because it was “just too beautiful”. And every year,
  upon arriving in Lurs…

• Why are the Rencontres de Lure an association ? and above all, what is in it for those who join

  Any association offers an independent structure to implement projects that have a common goal. The association of the Rencontres internationales
  de Lure lives on contributions from its members and a few small subsidies. Its working force is volunteers only. Its members are professionals, researchers, but also students. All share the same desire to transmit written culture and its practices ; all want to think together and prepare the important changes coming about in this field. By joining the Rencontres internationales de Lure, you both support the project and contribute to its success.

• Activities
  
  • The summer week in Provence, at Lurs
  • The Chemin des écritures at Lurs, open to all, all year round  
  • Exhibitions
  • Typobingo
  • Monthly meetings in Paris Trips and outings, in France and other European countries  
  • Workshops (stone engraving, software, writing)  
  • Puces typo  
  • Partnerships with schools  
  • Exchanges and projects with other associations
  • On-line resources Lure info, the association’s bulletin
  • Publications (monographs, periodicals, proceedings…)