La Gaîté Lyrique... an open place!

Following a call for applications issued in April 2022 by the City of Paris, La Gaîté Lyrique is beginning a new chapter in its history with a project led by a unique alliance between five partners: Arty Farty, Arte France, makesense, SINGA, Actes Sud. The project, Factory of our times, combines creation and social engagement to address pressing cultural, social, democratic and climate issues. It’s a springboard for putting ideas into practice and bringing stories to life. Factory of our times fosters artistic creation and the spread of ideas, empowers people, breaks down barriers, moves in new directions and builds fresh impetus.

We are living in momentous times. The silent transformations of the past have suddenly become tangible, leaving us at a vertiginous crossroads. Successive crises are leading to disruptions that will soon be irreversible – a reality that has hit our lives head-on, fueling our collective anxiety, but also sparking creativity and ingenuity.

La Gaîté Lyrique aims to address this constant state of flux and feeling of disengagement with a space to build community, to join together in a collective project. A place that channels the world’s adrenaline to embody the major issues of our era – a Factory of our times.

Living in the present: a place for everyday life 

Open daily starting on May 12, La Gaîté Lyrique is a place for people and groups to congregate both during the day and in the evening, on weekdays and weekends. A place where everyone feels at home. Located in the heart of Paris, the center aims to coordinate and break down barriers between communities from different backgrounds and areas, who can commingle and interact, building the collective. A work in progress, Factory of our times stands as an antidote to isolation and negativism. 

Shaping the times: a place for social engagement and fun 

Factory of our times pursues a pluralistic artistic vision composed around each partner, like a musical score for several voices. It draws from their singularity while building on a foundation of common values, chief among which interconnectedness, depolarization and social engagement. Telling the story of our time calls for a chorus of voices, to embrace complexity and emerge unified. 

No boundaries between disciplines have been set in bringing this vision to life. La Gaîté Lyrique seeks to establish a dialogue between all artistic fields (music, dance…) and the social sphere, philosophy, gastronomy, media, sports, ecology, the creative industry, childhood, and adolescence. Pop culture, a marker of our time, emerges at the intersection of all these fields. 

Sharing the era: a place to amplify voices 

La Gaîté Lyrique is preparing to support and connect people working to make a positive impact on our lives. Artists, cultural organizations, activists, scientists, companies in the social and solidarity economy, and local authorities come to La Gaîté Lyrique to advance their projects, broaden their perspective, expand their skillset, and forge ties. They channel culture and art to inspire wide audiences and make a real difference. 

Now more than ever, it’s vital to foster young people’s ability to initiate and develop projects, to form networks and establish partnerships. It’s critical to elevate their civic-minded initiatives and their environmental, social and  societal responsibilities. 

The partners

Welcome to Factory of our times, a project focused on creation and social engagement, led by a unique alliance between Arty Farty, ARTE, makesense, SINGA and Actes Sud!

Our collective watchwords are:

• Transparent, equitable governance.
• Joint governance to be productive as a group and more than the sum of our parts.
• Active, socially engaged governance in the day-to-day running of the project, through open lines of communication with staff, partners, audiences and local authorities.

Arte France

For more than 30 years, ARTE’s singular, eclectic editorial line has helped build a democratic public space and a shared European perspective informed by great stories. A unique forum for creators to express themselves, with content in six languages, ARTE continually innovates to form a closer connection with its audiences. Boasting a wealth of content spanning an online platform, television, radio and social media, ARTE France will bring its editorial vision to life in Factory of our times and enhance the collaboration.

Arty Farty

Arty Farty has developed an ecosystem of events, venues and projects, with a focus on independent music and cultural for young people. It was founded on the idea that cultural is a cornerstone of democracy, active citizenship, and a more innovative, just society.

Actes Sud

Since its inception, Actes Sud has developed a broad, socially conscious approach to publishing centered on spreading knowledge as far and wide as possible. Actes Sud publishes books by multitalented authors which help us understand the world, to dream it and make it a better place. As a publishing company, Actes Sud has always embraced its role in the cultural sphere as a discoverer and guide.

makesense

makesense brings together actors in society to make the ecological transition and solidarity a reality. Empowerment programs enable people to implement solutions in the communities where they live or to change jobs. Tailored training and guidance bring about lasting change at companies. An incubator accelerates social entrepreneurship and investment funds finance high-impact projects. All these components fit together to help collectively build an inclusive, sustainable society.

Singa

SINGA is an international, civically engaged NGO connects newcomers with local citizens. Its mission is to enable newcomers to reacquire the social capital they left behind and build a new shared foundation through entrepreneurship, housing and activities. SINGA promotes 360-degree inclusion across the economic, cultural and social spheres.

Leadership

Within the governance ecosystem, Vincent Carry represents Arty Farty as President of La Gaîté Lyrique, Juliette Donadieu serves as General Director, and Vincent Cavaroc as Artistic Director.

Juliette Donadieu

Active in culture and innovation for more than 15 years, Juliette Donadieu has pursued a career spanning entrepreneurship, management and cultural diplomacy. She recognizes the need to combine public-sector power with private-sector agility, and to restore the central place of art and culture in contemporary society. She created the Les Traverses agency in 2009 and oversees production of the innovation festival Future en Seine. She joined La Gaîté Lyrique in 2012 as head of production, before going on to serve as cultural attaché at the French Consulate of San Francisco, where she created Villa San Francisco, a precursor to Villa Albertine. In 2022, she joined the Art Explora foundation to focus on large-scale experimentation with new models of cultural democratization that are open, socially conscious and attuned to the challenges of the 21st century. She became General Director of La Gaîté Lyrique in 2023.

Vincent Cavaroc

Following seven years at the Montpellier National Choreographic Center as head of communication under Mathilde Monnier, Vincent Cavaroc joined La Gaîté Lyrique in 2010 as an artistic advisor, curating several event series, exhibitions and festivals. Co-director of the cultural cooperative Illusion & Macadam in Montpellier, he heads the production office that manages the dance companies led by Xavier Le Roy and Mathilde Monnier. In 2015, he became the artistic director of Tropisme, a festival for digital culture and contemporary music. He collaborates regularly with the European Lab, a forum in Lyon, and with France Culture, for which he has produced several documentaries. In 2019, he became the founding director of Halle Tropisme, a cultural and entrepreneurial third place based in Montpellier. The same year, alongside Christophe Goutes, he launched Atelier Martine Andrée, a studio specialized in scenography, construction and mise en espace for venues, exhibitions, performances and art installations. In 2021, he opened Ateliers Tropisme, a 1,800-square-meter work and residency space for artists in Montpellier, and served as artistic director of a major Africa-France summit held in Montpellier. In 2023, he became Artistic Director for La Gaîté Lyrique.

... and the whole team of La Gaîté Lyrique !