Since 2002, IESA arts&culture has partnered with the Fondation Vieilles Maisons Françaises to defend and safeguard unprotected buildings of major interest for history, art history and French heritage, in order to have them listed as Historic Monuments and thus promote the tourist and cultural enhancement of a heritage site.
Every year, first-year students in the Master’s in Tourism and Cultural Heritage at IESA arts&culture carry out an audit at the start of the school year in October to promote several sites selected by IESA arts&culture and the Fondation Vieilles Maisons Françaises, under the supervision of their professor Pierre Chandès.
The prize is awarded by a jury made up of representatives of the Fondation Vieilles Maisons Françaises and IESA arts&culture. This year they awarded the prize to Patricia Demangeon of the Château de Hautsegur in Ardèche in 2019.
IESA arts&culture works to promote French heritage and pass it on by offering each prize winner a 4-month training course on Heritage Enhancement and Cultural Engineering, a tourism development study carried out by students of the Master’s in Heritage and Cultural Tourism, and a grant worth €2,300 to improve public reception.
Patricia Demangeon of the Château de Hautsegur, who was the winner of the VMF – IESA Prize in 2019, said of the prize:
" The VMV-IESA prize awarded in June 2019 to the Château de Hautsegur gave new momentum to the building’s reputation, attracting new visitors as soon as it was covered in the press, as well as new patrons. This prize is not only an undeniable asset for the building’s future, it is also a ray of sunshine on a path that is not always easy… It is therefore excellent for morale! I sincerely thank the entire IESA team, students, professors and the whole management team."
The last five winners of the VMF-IESA PRIZE
2019 - Château de Hautsegur – Ardèche
2018 – Château de Bosmelet – Pays de Caux – Normandy
2017 – Château de Poncé – Sarthe
2016 – Château de Chemery – Loire Valley
2015 - Château de Bizy – Eure
