Art and craft trades

The 2025 Biennale: Singular Nature

At a time when climate change is redefining our environment, this edition celebrates nature that has been reinvented, poetic, sometimes utopian, but always meaningful. The theme "Singular Nature" invites artisans to explore their intimate relationship with nature in all its diversity and fragility.

The Czech Republic is the guest of honour, offering a unique insight into the craft traditions of Central Europe. In dialogue with 67 artists from Luxembourg, 39 Czech artists enrich the biennial with a strong intercultural dimension, where nature becomes a common language between territories and generations.

"Singular nature" is synonymous with a committed, sensitive and deeply human work.

The year 2025 marks a turning point and a renewal with a new logo, a new visual identity and a new website. In the coming years, the ambition is to continue opening up beyond borders in order to promote Luxembourgish arts and crafts internationally, while continuing to showcase them nationally through various events.

This year's programme continues outside the walls with nine partners, from Villa Vauban to Luxembourg House.

A royal initiative and a huge popular success

Their Royal Highnesses the Grand Duke Guillaume and the Grand Duchess Stéphanie launched the De Mains de Maîtres initiative to showcase modern craft trades in the Grand Duchy. The exhibition at the crossroads of art and craft trades presents the search for innovation in the sector, witness to the transmission of gestures and skills, and promotes the creative talents of the Grand Duchy, including on the international scene. 

The  third edition  of the biennial took place in  November 2021 and is being held in Luxembourg and Paris. Under the theme "Live Materials", around a hundred European artists are exhibiting their craftsmanship. In Paris, the Impressions d'automne exhibition is being held in a private setting at the Ambassador's residence.

The theme of the fourth edition is "Le Geste et le Territoire" (The Gesture and the Territory). It honours Portugal, the largest foreign community in Luxembourg. The works explore themes of identity, heritage, the environment and cultural ties between the two countries.

A themed biennial event, well-known internationally, offering prizes

In 2021,  a special scholarship  for De Mains De Maîtres creation aimed at supporting a talented creative craftsperson living in the Grand Duchy. The aim of this special aid was to support a craftsperson's creative work during the health crisis which was affecting every entrepreneurial field. Nine prize winners were selected by the jury after studying the entries received. You will find more details about the scholarship and the artists here. 

Lea Schroeder – an eclectic creator

Lea Schroeder has been creative since she was a child. Her mother introduced her to ceramics when she was just four years old; she studied Art Design in Paris. She learned her trade from the creative stage through to production, and during her training she was able to gain work experience with major brand names such as Louis Vuitton and Hermès. She went on to specialise in accessories by attending a training course in Milan with one of the world's leading luxury groups, and when she returned to Paris she ended up signing a contract to work with Lancel. 

The idea and the intellectual impact of a creation - and indeed its execution - must be just right.

Lea Schroeder is a versatile artist: She is equally at home working in ceramics, graphic design and textiles. Each product is designed as a total package: product, packaging, communication and presentation. Her ceramics, in cloisonné faience, are also produced for commissions. She draws inspiration from  stories, customs and traditions. The spiritual aspect represents the relationship between humans and nature, and she believes its interpretation is the basis for all creative work. Lea Schroeder develops her ideas using both digital and craft techniques: two elements that might seem contradictory but are in fact complementary for the artist, who cannot do without either.

Her studio is currently at  the 1535° in Differdange, were she can take advantage of the innovative environment and contact with other creators. As both an artist and a businesswoman, she advises young entrepreneurs to believe in themselves and in their projects, to keep training themselves and stay informed, to diversify and reinvent themselves all the time, and to set out on the journey she defines as continuous discovery.