An open-air media scene

With the arrival of sunny days, a few city walks are in order. An opportunity to fill up on vitamin D after a winter that is too long, too dark, these escapades also have the merit of satisfying the curiosity of the most attentive. While with the arrival of spring, walkers on Pont Neuf marvel at the imposing statue of Yayoi Kusama, visitors to the swamp make a completely different observation. Walking along Papin Street since mid-May, it is possible to observe a new breath of life animating La Gaîté Lyrique. This emerging brilliance has a name: La Fabrique de l'Époque, a new cultural project driven by the unprecedented and exceptional association between Arty Farty, ARTE, Makesense, Makesense, SINGA and Actes Sud. Its purpose? Reply to The cultural emergency, social, democratic and climate change of our time, inviting us to move from idea to action, from story to impact.

To understand the origin of the factory of the time, you have to delve into the history of La Gaîté Lyrique. Since its creation in the 18th century, it has continued to reinvent itself. Born Théâtre de la Foire on Boulevard du Temple, it changed into Théâtre Lyrique et Popaire de la Rue Papin, before going bankrupt in 1991. In 2011, La Gaîté Lyrique was reborn under the leadership of Bertrand Delanoë to become a cultural center dedicated to digital arts and current music. Crossing the ages as a witness to the evolution of the world around it, it is not surprising to observe Gaîté Lyrique being the scene of a new reflection, summarized by Juliette Donadieu, General Director of La Gaîté Lyrique “What is the role of a cultural place in an era marked by new social and environmental challenges?”

It was from this reflection that the project of the factory of the time was born. Juliette Donadieu says: “The thinking started with Arty Farty” she says, an association from Lyon working for the renewal of public strategies in the field of culture, entrepreneurship and democratic practices. “We had to find out how these spaces of exchange could be a powerful tool to meet the challenges that are imposed on us.” After a few months of reflection and a call for applications launched in April 2022, a group composed of Arty Farty, Arte France, Makesense and Singa was appointed to take the lead of this cultural establishment and deploy its project there, supported by Actes Sud, the privileged editorial partner of this new team.

Juliette Donadieu confesses, the simple fact of collaborating with five different entities is already a challenge in itself. “Cooperation between the various actors began with long exchanges to establish a dialogue around the values carried by each.” she says “It was necessary to create cooperation bodies, so that the 5 partners could feed the place in their own way, and for the project to advance with balanced decisions”. Thus, the factory of the time benefits from an unprecedented cocktail of expertise:

Arty Farty's skills in creating music, scouting talent, and incubating cultural initiatives. ARTE's expertise in terms of audiovisual production and distribution of cultural content. Makesense's experience in community leadership, popular education, and social innovation. The committed and united vision of SIGMA, essential to satisfy the social aspect of the project. And finally, the editorial support of Actes Sud, a publishing house developing a general and committed editorial policy, putting the dissemination of knowledge and its accessibility to the greatest number of people at the heart of its concerns.

With all these skills combined, Juliette Donadieu wanted to make the factory of the time “a place of celebration and commitment with an unprecedented recipe, where the public is an actor in their own right”. To achieve this objective, the Director of La Gaîté Lyrique presents a program built around three main axes:

Artistic creation “with a varied program, centered on music, but also open to other disciplines such as theater, dance, cinema, visual arts”. By supporting artists from a wide variety of backgrounds through residencies, incubators, laboratories and co-productions. The circulation of ideas “By addressing the themes that make up our time: climate, migration, media, pop culture or others, during conferences, screenings, exhibitions or debates”. And finally, citizen engagement “By being a toolbox at the service of change actors, by offering several resources to strengthen the capacity to create and act together.”

By setting up this entire program, the factory of the time wanted to embody a completely new proposal in the world of culture: a space where questions are asked, and where answers are found. Objective: to move from idea to action, emancipate and decompartmentalize audiences addressing all ages, all backgrounds and all sensitivities.