February 2014 brought the traveling photography exhibition, Le Transporteur d’Images (“Carrier of Pictures”), to Carcassonne. The Transporteur d’Images is a mobile art gallery based in a converted river barge that is sailing on the Canal du Midi. The 150 mile long (241 km) Canal du Midi was built in the 17th century and connects with other rivers and canals to create a continuous waterway from Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean. The Canal du Midi, has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1996.
(Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
Captain Frédéric Journo with crewman/artist Gauthier Fleuri uses the traveling art exhibition as a method of creating awareness that historic trees lining the canal have been destroyed. Many trees along the route have had to be removed due to a spread of canker disease. Since setting sail from Sète in late July 2012, the Transporteur d’Images has raised €10,000 in donations for re-planting trees along this waterway with the sale of pictures, books, and posters.
Le Transporteur d’Images was one those unusual surprises that makes living in Carcassonne such a pleasure.
An Italian Point Of View 