An Été Au Havre began in 2017 with the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the port city’s foundation. The event enjoyed great acclaim and became an annual occurrence during the summer season, when Le Havre welcomes an ambitious celebration of art, heritage and culture, revitalized each year by fresh works of contemporary art, exhibited in the public space from June to mid-September.

Two sculptures carved in stone by Stefan Rinck take pride of place opposite the City Hall. The 4.3 m tall It Owl (2021) is accompanied by Buffalo Croc (2022), which as well as being a work of art, also functions as a public bench. These two works are perfectly representative of the artist’s sculptural oeuvre, conjuring up a variety of creatures that draw their inspiration from ancient myths, medieval bestiaries and Aztec legends, as well as iconoclastically borrowing from pop culture, the world of emojis and the history of cinema.