JEMA 2025: discover the art of weaving at the Musée Cognacq-Jay

Every spring, a major cultural event opens the doors of numerous museums, monuments and artists' studios. The Journées Européennes des Métiers d'Art (European Crafts Days ) shine the spotlight on the professionals and craftsmen who contribute to the preservation and renown of France's heritage.

Artistic professions cover a wide range of crafts: jewelers, watchmakers, masters of wood or stained glass, gardeners, heritage restorers, fashion designers, architects... A host of fascinating professions are on show at this annual event for the general public.

During JEMA, these artisans come to meet the curious, and demonstrate their talents through workshops, tours, installations...

The Musée Cognacq-Jay is taking part in the Journées des Métiers d'Art on April 3, 5 and 6, 2025. The museum, located in the Marais district of Paris, is offering a unique program for the occasion, free of charge. Please note that reservations are required. For more information, visit the museum's website.

• To be read
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The JEMA 2025 program at the Musée Cognacq-Jay :

Rendez-vous d'Exception - The art of Weaving and Straw, a link between tradition and creation
The theme of the nineteenth Journées Européennes des Métiers d'Art is "links". For the Rendez-Vous d'Exception, the Musée Cognacq-Jay will be highlighting two age-old skills: straw marquetry and tapestry.
These encounters, guided by a craftsman and a museum lecturer, will explore the works in the collection from an original angle, before revealing their manufacturing techniques, tools and secrets, offering a cross-view between 18th-century creations and their contemporary heirs.
Free with registration by email: reservation.cognacqjay@paris.fr
Subject to availability (18 per session).

• Thursday, April 3 - 2:30pm or 4pm
  Straw marquetry
  With Valérie Colas des Francs, straw marquetry artist. Valérie Colas des Francs opened her workshop in Nemours in November 2014, after a collaboration of nearly fifteen years with master artist Lison de Caunes. Since then, she has devoted herself to the design and production of her own creations, bespoke work (for private clients and top decorators), and heritage restoration. She also works for an international clientele.
  
  
• Saturday, April 5 - 10:30 or 11:30 am
  Visit: "Meubles ouverts: mécanismes, tiroirs secrets exceptionnellement visibles"
  With Sylvia Gagin, guide-conférencière.
  
  
• Sunday April 6 - 2:30 or 4:00 pm
  Tapestry
  With Olivia Géraud, licière in haute-lice tapestry. Trained at the École des Arts textiles du Mobilier national in Paris, Olivia Géraud is a licière in haute-lice tapestry. Winner of the Avenir Métiers d'Art 2023 prize, she also teaches for Paris Ateliers.

For more artistic discoveries and outings, see our special selection for the Journées des Métiers d'Art.

Journées des Métiers d'Art: date and program for the 2025 edition in Paris and the Île-de-France region
The Journées Européennes des Métiers d'Art is an exceptional week of encounters with craftspeople from all over France, from March 31 to April 6, 2025. Creative workshops open their doors to us, allowing us to discover their unique know-how. In Île-de-France, over 500 events await us. [Read more]