The Centre for contemporary Art in Delme is located in a former synagogue, built in an Oriental style in the late nineteenth century. Not least among its special features are a dome, an arcaded entryway decorated with latticework, and windows with geometric stained glass.

The synagogue was partly destroyed during the Second World War. The outer walls survived, but the interior was rebuilt along stricter lines after the war. The synagogue was permanently de-consecrated in the early 1980s for lack of sufficient numbers of worshippers. The first art exhibition was held in 1993.

The many artists who have exhibited in this unusual venue in the past twenty-five years, generating an identity and reputation for the art center both locally and internationally, include: François Morellet, Daniel Buren, Tadashi Kawamata, Ann Veronica Janssens, Marc Camille Chaimowicz, Katinka Bock, Julien Prévieux, Gianni Motti, Yona Friedman, Eric Baudelaire, Chloé Maillet et Louise Hervé, Marie Cool et Fabio Balducci, Susan Hiller, Clément Rodzielski, Jimmie Robert, Jean-Luc Moulène, Shilpa Gupta etc.
All have developed a special view of the venue by creating site specific works.

In addition to three or four temporary shows presented in the former synagogue every year, the Delme art center manages an artist-in-residence program in the village of Lindre-Basse in the heart of the Lorraine regional park area.

The Delme synagogue, of modest size and located in a rural region of Lorraine, has always positioned itself as an art lab, a site of artistic exploration and production. The art center makes a concerted effort to establish a dialogue with all potential audiences, focusing on the local area.

Since 2019, the CAC - la synagogue de Delme obtained the label « Contemporary art center of national interest » by the french Ministry of Culture.

Inaugurated on 22 September 2012, Gue(ho)st House is  an architecture-sculpture made out of an existing building. It offers visitor reception spaces dedicated to mediation and documentation, and allows everyone to prolong their visit to the exhibitions at the art centre. It’s signed by the artists Christophe Berdaguer and Marie Péjus.

Team

Romain Leclère - Chair
Benoît Lamy de La Chapelle - Director
Fanny Larcher-Collin - Administration and communication
Camille Grasser - Educational services and reception, residency coordinator
Alain Colardelle - Production manager and head technician
Sarah Viollon - Educational services and réception