BEFFROIS DE LA CULTURE - ecoc-doc-athens

and promoted hyper urban lifestyles in their
Laboratoire Factory. And on 2 0 N ovember 2 0 0 4 ,
the g rand finale of L ille 2 0 0 4 opened w ith an elec -
tronic music afternoon… reserved for k ids under
1 2 ! F or the oc c asion, the top F renc h D J, Laure n t
G arn ie r, hosted the show behind his rec ord dec k s.
C O LLE C T IVIT E S P U B LIQ U E S
(PUBLIC AUTHORITIES)
T he full c omplement of public authorities - E urope,
the S tate, the R eg ion, the d é p artem en ts, the
C om m u n au té u rbain e and all the partner tow ns –
embrac ed the L ille 2 0 0 4 projec t. O utstanding
financ ial input, a g rand-sc ale information netw ork
and the (c o)produc tion and (c o)realization of
events. T he c ontribution of seven B elg ian com -
m u n es saw partic ipation transc end national borders.
L ille 2 0 0 4 is the first E uropean C apital of
C ulture to spread out over suc h a larg e g eog raphic al
zone.
C O LLO Q U E S (C U LT U R E ) (CON F EREN CES)
Appropriately, for an event of this k ind, the q uestion
of c ulture as a soc ial vec tor c ame to the fore. T w o-
thirds of the w ay into the year (S eptember), on the
initiative of M artine Aubry, the q uestion w as debated
at the C onservatoire de L ille by leading philosophers,
ec onomists, artists and soc iolog ists. T his
exerc ise w as repeated in D ec ember, as the year
reac hed its c lose. In N ovember, the Aé ronef (L ille)
w elc omed three days of debate, this time on the initiative
of N ab il e l H ag g ar, vic e-P resident of L ille I
U niversity.
C O M M E R Ç A N T S (LO C A L B U S IN E S S E S )
T hree hundred loc al businesses supported the
E uropean C apital of C ulture by adhering to the
“ C ommerç ant L ille 2 0 0 4 ” label sc heme. T heir shop
w indow s displayed the c olours of the event throug h-
out the year. In addition, the G roup of L ille c ity c entre
businesses (G AE L ) org anised a series of exhibitions
(A rt au coeu r) in some tw enty tow n c entre
premises. S ome of these loc al businesses even produc
ed spec ial L ille 2 0 0 4 produc ts, inc luding
bread, c hoc olate and ling erie! At the end of the
event, all of the c ommerc ial and ec onomic bodies of
the c ity c entre expressed their satisfac tion w ith the
effec ts of L ille 2 0 0 4 .
C O M M U N IC A T IO N
U nder the stew ardship of Anne-F ranç oise L emaître,
the c ommunic ation team of L ille 2 0 0 4 w ork ed both
on the promotion of the E uropean C apital of C ulture
to the loc al and reg ional audienc e, as w ell as to the
w ider E uropean audienc e. International notoriety,
throug h an almost entirely biling ual c ommunic a-
tions effort c arried out by T ony C oates, c oupled w ith
proximity or leg ibility on a loc al level w ere the dual
aims of the team. A tourism (> ) department w ork ed
in c onjunc tion w ith the big g est E uropean tour operators,
w hilst, at the same time, a partnership w as
reac hed w ith the major reg ional new spaper la V oix
du N ord. E lec tronic new sletters w ere sent to over
2 5 ,0 0 0 subsc ribers ac ross the g lobe, and the
Ambassadors helped w ith the distribution of leaflets
in the street… T he w ebsite rec eived 1 0 0 ,0 0 0 visitors
per month.
T he c ommunic ations strateg y w as adapted to different
targ et audienc es, throug h multiple forms
(paper, Internet, telec ommunic ations, posters,
urban sig nposting … ) and an ambitious partnership
polic y (public and private struc tures), in order to
c ommunic ate as best and c losely as possible to a
diverse audienc e.
Flower Power exhibition in Lille’s Palais des Beaux-Arts
C O M M U N A U T E U R B A IN E
(LILLE M ETROPOLITAN AUTHORITY )
P ierre M auroy, the P resident of the Lille M é trop ole
C om m u n au té U rbain e (L M C U ), bec omes fully
involved in the L ille 2 0 0 4 projec t from the outset,
aiming to c reate an event w hic h w ould reveal “ both
the diversity of the metropolis itself and its c rossborder
potential” . In order to ac hieve this, the
org anisation c hooses to g ive partic ular support to
the M é tam orp h oses (> ) prog ramme.
Another important foc al point is Jac q ue s S im o n ’s
P arc de la D eû le and L and Art (> ) projec ts. L astly,
L ille 2 0 0 4 is the perfec t opportunity for the L M C U
to promote the larg e third-season ex hibition
M exiq u e-E u rop e, A llers-R etou rs 1 9 1 0 -1 9 6 0 at the
M u sé e d ’A rt M od ern e in V illeneuve d’Asc q .
CON SEIL G É N É RAL D U N ORD
S everal types of ac tions typified the partic ipation of
the C onseil G é né ral du N ord in L ille 2 0 0 4 : the
restoration and promotion of heritag e building s
(Forts et Lu m iè res); the rec og nition of historic al
treasures (M atisse et la cou leu r d es tissu s and
C ou leu r, travail et socié té exhibitions); L iterature
(> ); and traditional c ultural c utoms (G é an ts, brass
bands > R ac ines). T hese c auses have been c hampioned
sinc e 1 9 8 8 and w ere g iven full prestig e under
the aeg is of B ernard D erosier w hen, in 2 0 0 4 , the
C on seil bec ame involved in further related projec ts.
H enc e, R enaud T ardy, the vic e president in c harg e
of c ulture pic k ed out ‘G ame on’, an exhibition
devoted to video g ames, as « one of the events of
the year » .
CON SEIL G EN ERAL D U PAS-d e -CALAIS
F or the C on seil G é n é ral d u P as-d e-C alais, L ille
2 0 0 4 is seen as an « extra opportunity to hig h-
lig ht » the d é p artem en t’s c ultural initiatives. T he
M u sé e d es B eau x A rts and the lac e museum in
C alais, the re-opening of the M u sé e d e l’H ô tel
S an d elin d e S ain t-O m er, the romantic exc ursions
org anized by C u ltu re C om m u n e in the form of the
R en d ez-vou s cavaliers (> D é am bu lation s) and the
projec ts entrusted to the T h é â tre d ’A rras… T he
c hairman of the C on s eil G é n é ral, D ominiq ue
D upilet and his predec essor R oland H ug uet oversaw
the org anisation’s c ommitment to L ille 2 0 0 4 .
CON SEIL RÉ G ION AL D U N ORD /PAS-D E-CALAIS
D aniel P erc heron and his vic e president in c harg e of
c ulture, Iv an R enar, (replac ed by C atherine
G é nisson during the year), c reate an initiative c alled
A u tou r d e Lille 2 0 0 4 , desig ned to offer memorable
events to the entire reg ion. T he O rch estre N ation al
d e Lille visits 1 6 tow ns thank s to the Itin é ran ces
sym p h on iq u es projec t. O pera is performed in the
street, featuring La C lef d es C h an ts and O p osito (>
D é am bu lation s). L es B effrois d e la C u ltu re bring the
museum experienc e to the street c orner, ultimately
attrac ting 8 0 ,0 0 0 visitors. O verall, the Autour de
L ille projec t reac hes 4 5 venues in 3 5 tow ns.
C O U LE U R S (COLOURS)
C olours w ere a main theme in the c onc eptualisation
of L ille 2 0 0 4 . T he idea w as for the territory to show
its ric h diversity throug h « tec hnic olour » . T he
c olours of L ille 2 0 0 4 w ere present in all c orners of
the E uroreg ion, throug h events and sig nposting , and
eac h of the three seasons had its predominant c olour.
C U LIN A IR E (A R T ) (CULIN ARY ART)
K itc hens in the M aison F olies. An Italian c anteen
for the M on d e P arallè le G ê n es. A T o d i box is the
c ombination of the talents of a g rand c hef, tw o
desig ners and the students of a loc al hotel and
c atering sc hool: uniq ue dishes in a c ontemporary
serving c onc ept. T he art of steamed ravioli to savour
in the T ri P ostal during the M on d e P arallè le C h in e.
T he C ondition P ubliq ue in R oubaix hosts a barbec
ue of international c uisine. Jac q ue s B o n affé
reg ales g uests at his banq uets (> L iterature). A traditional
P olish milk bar for the M on d e P arallè le
P olog n e. And, for the main dish, the Laïk a c ompany
from Antw erp serves up 5 days of music al theatre
at the M aison F olie of W azemmes in the form
of a delic ious meal prepared by performing music
ians. 2 0 0 4 , a year of taste and c onviviality.
(D )
D AN CE
C ompare the rig our of W illiam F o rsyth e to the q uirk y
humour of M artin B é lan g e r, and the differenc e
betw een c lassic al forms and a more c ontemporary
approac h c ouldn’t be g reater. B ill T . Jo n e s (> )
opened the year. F estivals lik e B ord erlin e (run by le
M an è g e , M aubeug e), S olo S oli (Le Viv at,
Armentiè res), Le D elta (run by L ille 2 0 0 4 ) and
Latitu d es con tem p orain es offer a blend of new talent
and headline ac ts. A n d rè s M arin imports the flamenc
o, G in e tte Laurin bring s a C anadian touc h,
and S ab uro T e sh ig aw ara c reates an amazing c horeog
raphy for a young blind g roup at the O pé ra de
L ille. M eanw hile F arid B e rk i finds suc c ess abroad,
as far afield as C hina, in the festival Les q u ais d e
C h in e.
D É A M B U LA T IO N S (W AN D ERIN G S)
T he M é tamorphoses (> ) w ere an invitation to stroll
around the c ity. T he R en d ez-vou s cavaliers org anised
in the P as-de-C alais mining reg ion, south of
L ille, by C ulture C o m m un e , w ere an opportunity to
w ander along old horse trac k s redisc overing the
mining heritag e and enjoying artistic interventions.
T he N ew Y ork artist, F io n a T e m p le to n , took dozens
of visitors on a zany tour of the streets of L ille.
M ontreal c ollec tive, F arin e O rp h e lin e c onc oc ted a
multimedia visit of the L ille-W azemmes distric t.
W ith A la vie, à l’am ou r, a w andering opera, O p o sito
/ Le C le f d e s c h an ts took fine arias to the streets of
tw elve c ity c entres of the reg ion. F estivities and
parades travelled too. T he Fen ê tres q u i p arlen t initiative
saw artw ork s reac h street level. In his
M é m oire d u vin , the C olumbian direc tor, E n riq ue
Varg as, invited the spec tator on a dream-lik e voyag e
throug h a labyrinth set up w ithin the P alais R ameau
of L ille…
In 2 0 0 4 , w alk abouts and w andering s w ere of various
k inds. T he visitor / spec tator w as invited to disc
over artistic proposals w hic h upset the traditional
notions of stag e / venue and w ork s / museum. S inc e
lille2004lille 60