The Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City of La Ciotat’s Memory Transmission Service, invites you to discover the major photographic event The 1001 Lives of La Ciotat, as seen by Garabed Garabedian, presented across eight emblematic locations.
As part of the event The 1001 Lives of La Ciotat, by Garabed Garabedian, the Tourist Office is pleased to host the photographic exhibition “Stars Through Gara’s Lens.”
Through 20 iconic photographs, visitors are invited to journey back in time and immerse themselves in the vibrant atmosphere of the 1950s to the 1970s, a period when cinema and music captured the public’s imagination. Michel Sardou, Fernandel, Sylvie Vartan and many other major figures are revealed here through the sensitive, complicit and deeply human gaze of Garabed Garabedian.
Far more than simple celebrity portraits, these photographs capture rare moments, atmospheres and fragments of emotion. They bear witness to the artist’s unique talent for revealing intimacy behind fame and for weaving together collective memory and personal emotion.
The event also unfolds across seven other cultural venues throughout the city, each dedicated to a specific theme, all seen through the lens of Garabed Garabedian:
The themes of the different venues:
The Chapel of the Blue Penitents: open Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 12:30 and from 14:00 to 18:30 / Unpublished photographs ‘Local life in La Ciotat from 1950 to 1970’, ‘Shops in La Ciotat from 1970 to 1974’
The Shipbuilding Museum: open Monday to Saturday from 9.30am to 5pm / ‘Shipbuilding in La Ciotat in 1955 and 1956’
The Port Gallery: open Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 12:30 and from 14:00 to 18:30 / ‘Fishing in La Ciotat’ and ‘The port of La Ciotat’
The Conservatory: during normal opening hours and days / ‘Stars through the eyes of Gara from 1950 to 1970 – Part 1’
The Media Library: open Tuesday to Saturday during normal opening hours / ‘Schools in La Ciotat...’ and ‘Back to school’
La Chaudronnerie: open on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and on show nights from 6.30 p.m. to 8 p.m. (closed on public holidays and during school holidays) / ‘The old shops of La Ciotat from 1953 to 1955’
Micro-Folie: open on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. / ‘The unusual’
A major opening reception will take place on 29 January 2026 from 6:30 p.m., at the Chapelle des Pénitents Bleus.
No reservation required
Through 20 iconic photographs, visitors are invited to journey back in time and immerse themselves in the vibrant atmosphere of the 1950s to the 1970s, a period when cinema and music captured the public’s imagination. Michel Sardou, Fernandel, Sylvie Vartan and many other major figures are revealed here through the sensitive, complicit and deeply human gaze of Garabed Garabedian.
Far more than simple celebrity portraits, these photographs capture rare moments, atmospheres and fragments of emotion. They bear witness to the artist’s unique talent for revealing intimacy behind fame and for weaving together collective memory and personal emotion.
The event also unfolds across seven other cultural venues throughout the city, each dedicated to a specific theme, all seen through the lens of Garabed Garabedian:
The themes of the different venues:
The Chapel of the Blue Penitents: open Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 12:30 and from 14:00 to 18:30 / Unpublished photographs ‘Local life in La Ciotat from 1950 to 1970’, ‘Shops in La Ciotat from 1970 to 1974’
The Shipbuilding Museum: open Monday to Saturday from 9.30am to 5pm / ‘Shipbuilding in La Ciotat in 1955 and 1956’
The Port Gallery: open Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 12:30 and from 14:00 to 18:30 / ‘Fishing in La Ciotat’ and ‘The port of La Ciotat’
The Conservatory: during normal opening hours and days / ‘Stars through the eyes of Gara from 1950 to 1970 – Part 1’
The Media Library: open Tuesday to Saturday during normal opening hours / ‘Schools in La Ciotat...’ and ‘Back to school’
La Chaudronnerie: open on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and on show nights from 6.30 p.m. to 8 p.m. (closed on public holidays and during school holidays) / ‘The old shops of La Ciotat from 1953 to 1955’
Micro-Folie: open on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. / ‘The unusual’
A major opening reception will take place on 29 January 2026 from 6:30 p.m., at the Chapelle des Pénitents Bleus.
No reservation required
