Be careful, the Experimental Pole of Arts and Crafts is temporary closed during the works of the castle. 
The Experimental Pole of Arts and Crafts offers you:

  • Temporary exhibitions dedicated to arts and crafts and design, conferences, meetings, demonstrations…
  • The blades and metals space
  • The Arts and Crafts shop
  • The event “Rue des Métiers d’Art”, a creator show which occurs during French All Saints holidays.
  • It aims to raise awareness about arts and crafts as well as design through guided visits, workshops and lessons as well as meetings with the professionals.

The exhibitions of Arts and Crafts:
The Experimental Pole of Arts and Crafts (also named PEMA) is situated in the Nontron castle, a large mansion of the 18th century which overhangs the Arts Gardens and the Bandiat Valley.
Exhibitions are organized and present modern creations made thanks to ancestral know-how: ceramic, stained glass, woodturning, weaving, mosaic, engraving, copperware, cabinet working…
These exhibitions highlight the diversity and creativity of arts and crafts. The PEMA creates links between arts and crafts, design and modern art. It regularly collaborates with associations or institutions in order to conceive its exhibitions.
Guided visits, adapted for every public, are proposed in French and in English as well as educational workshops or demonstrations.

The Blades and Metals Space:
The cutlery tradition is very ancient in Nontron, today it exists two cutlery industries in activity and every year, in August, there is the Knife Show.
The Blades and Metals Space exposes a collection of exceptional knives, art knives as well as original creations, ingenious knives, regional knives, little knives of Nontron, flint-made knives…These knives are lend by the cutlers loyal to the Knife Show and some of them are from our own collection.

The Arts and Crafts shop:
For your pleasure or to offer, come to discover unique objects, useful and pleasant: fashion accessories, jewelries, gifts, tableware, decoration…
The Nontron Arts and Crafts shop proposes, for sale, creations of arts and crafts professionals from the territory and also invites numerous artists who come from other places.
The shop has an ethic approach; it ensures the respect of the arts and crafts professionals as well as the one of the buyers. It also has a mission of awareness and information about arts and crafts.

The courses, internships and workshops of initiation to arts and crafts:
Initiation workshops animated by professionals are proposed during a few hours. Children and adults can discover the principles of ceramic, enamel, stone cutting, leatherwork, weaving…
For the ones who want to deepen their knowledge of arts and crafts, workshops are also organized during the holidays as well as weekly courses: ceramic, wood sculpture, stained glass…Every time, they are supervised by a professional.
Other internships are also proposed for individuals. It is necessary to talk directly to the professional: lithography, painting on ceramic, woodturning…

Place :
Pôle Expérimental Métiers d’Art de Nontron et du Périgord-Limousin
Château, av. du Général Leclerc 24300 NONTRON

05 53 60 74 17 – contact@metiersdartperigord.fr