The Board of Directors of “M28 – Terres de culture” met on Wednesday May 29 in Saint-Jean-Fos (Hérault Valley). The opportunity to propose new governance, develop new missions and announce an event in the fall of 2025. Responding to the invitation of Jean-François SOTO, Mayor of Gignac and President of the Hérault Valley community of communes, and in the presence of Pascal DELIEUZE, Mayor of Saint-Jean-de-Fos, all the members of the CA were able to visit the Argileum of Saint-Jean-de-Fos and the Abbey of Aniane on this occasion.
Governance adapted to new challenges
The M28 Board of Directors made it possible to initiate a new stage for the dynamics of the territory in favor of culture with the installation of governance adapted to the challenges to come, with the election of Sophie LERON, to the position of President of the M28 association and welcoming new members:
- the Occitanie Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs, represented by Michel ROUSSEL its director. The presence of the State was unanimously welcomed. The entry of the Ministry of Culture through the DRAC Occitanie is fundamental and highly symbolic.
- the Montpellier University Hospital, represented by Anne FERRER, its director, who will provide valuable support in linking culture, health and inclusion.
- Charlotte GIRERD, Director of Transition, CSR and Innovation of SNCF Immobilier and Alexandre LABASSE, General Director of the Parisian Urban Planning Workshop, as qualified personalities who will be able to support the association in the development of emerging urban themes and transformation projects innovative.
- Adèle Charvet remains one of the faces of M28 by continuing her commitment within the association as a qualified personality.
“Culture is a transformative power for the territory, an instrument serving its resilience and reinvention. Culture is what makes the territory a living organism.”
Sophie Léron, President of M28
A dynamic which demonstrates the vitality of the M28 approach in the territory.
For two years, the Montpellier 2028 – European Capital of Culture association did more than work for Montpellier’s candidacy for the title of European Capital of Culture: the approach made it possible to give substance to the notion of territory. A living area, a continuum of experiences and a community of destinies facing contemporary climatic, social and economic challenges.
“M28 – Terres de culture” is conceived today as a supplement of soul, in the etymological sense of the term – that which animates, that which gives breath – an approach which is not content to interweave administrative cogs, but builds an organic link between local stakeholders. By decompartmentalizing culture to make it an instrument of resilience.
The Board of Directors unanimously voted for the co-constructed roadmap which presents the actions to be implemented in the coming months, with all the partners and echoing the feedback from the winning project leaders in the Calls for projects 2022 and 2023.
To continue to fertilize the soil of our imaginations, to transform the territory through culture and build a common future through dialogue and the hybridization of forms, materials and disciplines, “M28 – Terres de culture” is adopting new missions. :
- Animate a common framework going beyond existing administrative structures and aiming to transform, through culture, the territory defined in the continuity of the candidacy of Montpellier and its partners to become European Capital of Culture,
- Create a space for experimentation with new artistic forms and collaboration around the daily problems of residents and the major issues that cross this territory
- Take an experimental and cross-sectoral approach,
- Support joint projects, document them and give them shared visibility.
A major event in 2025
Finally, the members of the board of directors of “M28 – Terres de culture” approved the holding of a major cultural event, under the artistic direction of Nicolas Dubourg. Divided into 7 major meetings and punctuated by dozens of transdisciplinary events, with the participation of residents, it will extend over the entire territory, from Château Laurens to Agde to Sana to Grau du Roi, including The source of the Lez or the Lunel Canal. At the end of a year of residencies and experiments, this event “The Paths of Living” will take place for a week from September 28 to October 4, 2025 and will be followed by a handover with the Euro-Africa Biennale the weekend of October 5 and 6, 2025.
Crédit : Vincent Bartoli