Honoring history, architecture, and dance at Lascaux IV

As part of the 2025 European Heritage Days, the International Centre for Parietal Art – Lascaux IV hosted an extraordinary celebration of creativity, cultural heritage, and shared emotion. The event highlighted the powerful dialogue between contemporary architecture and the timeless legacy of the Lascaux cave and its 20,000-year old paintings, underscoring the global impact of the ambitious project in Montignac, France led by Snøhetta and the Dordogne Departmental Council.

Inaugurated in 2016 by then-President François Hollande, Lascaux IV has become a source of pride for the Dordogne region. The center, designed by Snøhetta in collaboration with SRA Architectes and scenographers Casson Mann, ​is seamlessly integrated into the landscape of the Vézère Valley and offers an immersive experience and a faithful reconstitution of the original cave and cave paintings discovered in the area in 1940. ​

Nearly a decade later, it continues to resonate on the international stage, having welcomed over three million visitors and reaffirming the universal fascination with our prehistoric imagination.

In 2023, Lascaux IV received the Houen Foundation Award — Norway’s most prestigious architectural award — in recognition of its cultural and architectural significance. This honor was celebrated during the event in the presence of Norway’s Minister of Culture, Lubna Jaffery, who emphasized the enduring cultural and diplomatic importance of the project, along with jury leader Kristin Jarmund.

The day unfolded with a series of memorable moments: an official unveiling ceremony, exclusive guided tours, institutional speeches, and rich exchanges between French and Norwegian representatives from the cultural, artistic, and political spheres.

The event was made possible by a close collaboration with the Norwegian Embassy in Paris and Semitour, who operates the center. 

A standout moment was the premiere of Hidden, an original dance performance presented at Lascaux IV. This evocative work pays tribute to movement, myth, and memory, and emerged from a unique artistic collaboration between the Norwegian National Ballet, Know Nation and and Snøhetta. The performance is choreographed by Daniel Proietto and features principle dancer Yolanda Correa alongside Proietto.

Conceived as a ritual space imbued with ancestral presence, the performance transformed Lascaux IV into a living dialogue between ancient art and contemporary expression. Symbolic elements — such as a mythical Minotaur mask — evoked prehistoric rites, deepening the resonance between movement, space, and memory.

“Bringing dance to Lascaux IV, at the very heart of prehistoric art, was a profound honor for the Norwegian National Ballet,” adds Artistic Director Ingrid Lorentzen. “This collaboration reminds us that art and movement have always been part of our shared human identity. In the meeting of the ancient and the contemporary, a deep resonance emerges. We are proud to present a choreographic work created by Daniel Proietto and performed by him alongside our principal dancer Yolanda Correa.”

The idea for the performance was initially proposed by Kjetil Trædal Thorsen, Founding Partner of Snøhetta.

​"Dance is the most beautiful expression of human movement — it is poetry and body in one. When performed within a physical space, a magical connection emerges between the audience, the dancer, and the surroundings," says Thorsen. 

"To honor the history and myths of Lascaux, we wanted to challenge the Norwegian National Ballet and choreographer Daniel Proietto to interpret the spaces through dance. The result is a magnificent artistic performance by Proietto and Yolanda Correa, adding a completely new dimension to experiencing the wonder and history of Lascaux and the stories painted on its walls."

The remainder of the day was filled with enriching exchanges, including a roundtable discussion with French architecture writer, curator, and professor Frédéric Migayrou and Kjetil Trædal Thorsen, offering a preview of an upcoming book about Lascaux IV, set to be released next year in connection with the center's 10th anniversary.

The book, which will be published by Snøhetta, will explore Lascaux as a cradle of human identity and artistic creation, exploring its origins, reproductions, and contemporary interpretations. It will provide an in-depth look behind the scenes of the Lascaux IV project and Snøhetta's architectural approach.

Architectural mediation sessions during the day also offered insights into the vision behind Lascaux IV.

More than a tribute to architecture or parietal art, this exceptional day at Lascaux IV celebrated the profound connection between humanity, movement, and memory.