From April 21 to August 16, 2026, the Villers Abbey highlights the work and passion of local winegrowers through 32 large-format black-and-white photographs. A visual immersion into the heart of the vineyards and the daily lives of these “winegrowers, carriers of meaning.”
A Look at Wine
The growth of the wine sector in Wallonia inspired photojournalist Frédéric Pauwels and oenologist Marc Tomas to follow several winegrowers over the course of an entire year. Through the seasons, they shared their joys and hardships: the happiness when a vintage shows promise, the disappointment—even despair—when nature proves harsh and sometimes unfair.
Inspired by this project, students from Atelier Obscura—Bernard Buchel, Carole Detroz, Céline Lefèvre, Coleen Dewulf, Pierre Peignois, Sandrine de Waleffe, and Sibylle de Meeûs—devoted much of their free time to exploring the world of vines and winemaking. Their shared ambition was to shape these sensitive testimonies into a photographic book and this exhibition.
The promise of this collective work is both humble and essential: to reveal faces, gestures, grape varieties, soils, and seasons, and to make visible the work, precision, humility, fragility, joy, and dynamism of these dedicated artisans.
Practical Information
Dates: From Tuesday, April 21, 2026 to Sunday, August 16, 2026
Opening hours: Accessible during the opening hours of the Abbey
Admission fees: Access to the exhibition is included in the Abbey entrance ticket
- Adults: €10
- Seniors (65+), students: €8
- Children (6–12): €4
- Children under 6: free
