Category: News on the bid

« RACONTONS DEMAIN – Prendre acte, relier et se projeter avec le vivant »

Ce cycle de rencontres mensuelles s’inscrit dans le cadre de L’événement 25 – Les chemins du vivant. Ces rendez-vous visent à relier les professionnels et publics associés à la démarche M28 et à partager des réflexions autour des thématiques de M28.

Un lundi par mois, deux intervenants – artistes, chercheurs ou porteurs de projets – sont invités à dialoguer autour de problématiques thématisées à l’Hôtel d’Aurès à Montpellier, cœur battant de M28.

Construire un territoire à hauteur d’enfants #6

Lundi 5 mai 2025, à 18h à l’hôtel d’Aurès à Montpellier autour du thème “Construire un territoire à hauteur d’enfants”, avec Virginie Nieddu et Philippe Reitz.

Entrée libre dans la limite des places disponibles

Virginie Nieddu

Après des études de communication et d’administration culturelle, elle se forme au théâtre et co-fonde Le Baril en 2013. Depuis, elle écrit et joue dans des spectacles jeune et très jeune public dont Cache-cache avec Popi le poisson qui aura eu plus de 300 représentations. Le jeune public et l’éveil culturel deviennent un véritable engagement et c’est pour celle qu’elle accepte de reprendre la direction artistique du Festival Clapotis. Avec ses partenaires, elle crée Les Ricochets, un dispositif de création en territoire à destination des 0-6 ans qui permet de rencontrer les habitant.e.s et structures sociales en amont du festival.
En parallèle, elle travaille avec les cies C.I.A. et En Transition. Avec cette dernière, elle joue dans ENFIN d’Alexandre Cafarelli, un seul en scène où elle est accompagnée d’un musicien électro.
Elle rencontre alors Félix, créateur et chercheur en science sociale et lui propose de s’associer pour le projet MA TÊTE EST UNE BOÎTE. L’envie est d’établir un parallèle entre ce qui se passe dans la tête d’un enfant, le bouillonnement intérieur et les dancefloors électros. Depuis janvier 2025, ils vont dans les crèches et écoles pour récolter la parole des enfants et créent la musique de la pièce en fonction de ce qui les fait vibrer, danser, réagir !

Philippe Reitz

Philippe Reitz est le chef de projet Ville à hauteur d’enfants à la Mairie de Montpellier depuis janvier 2023.

Coordinateur de la démarche, il impulse la dynamique d’ensemble tant avec les collègues de la Ville et de la Métropole qu’avec les partenaires extérieurs (structures associatives, universités…), gère le laboratoire ville à hauteur d’enfants, et dessine une inscription en réseau avec d’autres villes développant une approche similaire (Lille, Lyon, Paris…).

Ville à hauteur d’enfants

Faire de Montpellier une ville à hauteur d’enfants, c’est placer les enfants au cœur de la conception des espaces publics de la Ville mais aussi des programmes d’actions qu’elle met en œuvre pour la population. Montpellier s’est engagée dans cette démarche en mettant en avant le principe que, si l’on pense la ville pour les enfants, on pense la ville pour tous, en particulier pour les plus fragiles.

En 2023, elle est devenue la première ville française à adhérer au réseau international « Ville des Enfants », développé par Francesco Tonucci. Montpellier fait également partie du réseau Ville amie des enfants, fondé par l’UNICEF.

Laboratoire « Ville des Enfants »

Lancé en 2024, le laboratoire Ville à hauteur d’enfants a pour principaux objectifs de :

• Réfléchir à la manière de conférer à l’enfant un rôle d’acteur de sa propre ville,
• Faire des propositions pour inventer le « Montpellier à hauteur d’enfants » de demain.

Il est composé de 3 groupes :

• Les enfants, qui sont consultés dans des instances et des lieux très variés, de manière à multiplier l’expression des opinions : membres du Conseil municipal des enfants, enfants des écoles ou des centres de loisirs, enfants des conseils de quartier…
• Les experts externes : membres de structures associatives, universitaires…
• Les experts internes : personnels de la Ville, de la Métropole, et des organismes associés (TaM, Altemed, ACM…).

#Residency #Research #Creation

This Call for Applications is part of Event 25 – Living trails, led by M28 – Terres de culture.

Preamble

As part of their respective experimental and cross-sectoral initiatives, and on the occasion of Event 25 –Living trails, Catfarm and the association Montpellier 2028 – Terres de culture are launching the residency call “Learning to Be – The Art of Community Life”.

Since 2012, Catfarm has been developing a social innovation project—an international community space dedicated to collective living in harmony with the environment. Officially an NGO since 2018, Catfarm aims to design and inspire a regenerative lifestyle through permaculture, art and experimentation.

The Catfarm project is structured around three core pillars:

• Community: working and living together with a dynamic based on sharing, love, respect, and mutual understanding,
• Creativity: using art and informal methods to find new responses to current challenges,
• Sustainability: living off-grid while considering ecological impact to reduce the footprint on the planet.

Through non-formal education, training, workshops, and community life, Catfarm offers a space for curious individuals to explore and develop new ways of achieving positive results with limited resources.

The Montpellier 2028 Association was created by the cities of Montpellier, Sète, and several local authorities to support a joint bid for the title of European Capital of Culture. This effort leveraged culture as a driver for an ambitious territorial transformation policy. This initial phase spurred a long-term strategy, enabling the co-construction of a territorial project involving many partners from economic, educational, and social sectors.

Building on this momentum and facing future challenges, Montpellier 2028 now seeks to capitalize on the dynamic initiated by the bid process to continue joint actions across the territory by:

• Providing a shared framework that transcends existing administrative boundaries and aims to transform the region through culture, in line with the Montpellier and partners’ bid for European Capital of Culture,
• To create a space for experimentation with new artistic forms and collaborations around the day-to-day problems of local residents and the major issues affecting the area,
• Take an experimental and cross-sectoral approach,
• Support joint projects, document them and give them shared visibility.

As part of this, a major cultural event, Living trails, will take place from September 26 to October 5, 2025, following a year of residencies and experimentation.

The residency “Learning to Be – The Art of Community Life” accompanied by the Catfarm team allows an artist to develop a territory-based project, in an artistic creation process connected to the living world, in the heart of an eco-built space near the medieval town of Poussan.

This residency is envisioned as a catalyst to support the immersion and welcoming of an artist into an intentional community. The artist is invited to create a work in resonance with the regenerative, life-respecting, and nature-connected lifestyle experienced at Catfarm. The project may highlight personal empowerment, environmental sustainability, social mutual aid, and the transition toward an ecologically and socially resilient society.

The artist will be supported by the local project team (a representative of the Art Circle, living on-site, and an artist intermediary who works outside of Catfarm but will be available to provide presence and support during the residency) and a representative from Montpellier 2028 – Terres de culture.

General conditions of the residency

Expected Artistic Fields

Experiential Design; Serious Games; Art Games; Participatory Narrative Games

The research component of the residency includes time for amateur artistic practices with Catfarm residents. The creation component requires a final presentation as part of Event 25 –Living trails.

Duration and Hosting Conditions

Four weeks of experimentation and creation, during which the artist will have access to the site and support from the local team.
Accommodation, if required, is provided by Catfarm as follows: a private space within Catfarm, consisting of a 19m² tent set on a fixed platform, with access to shared sanitary facilities.
Meals are also provided by Catfarm: three meals per day. Meals are important communal moments at Catfarm, and the artist may be invited to contribute to meal preparation.
Catfarm’s team will also help facilitate local transportation.

Creation Grant

The residency includes a grant of €5000, which covers the artist’s fee and travel expenses to and from Poussan (or Sète train station).
A formal agreement will be signed between Montpellier 2028, Catfarm, and the artist.

Dates

As part of Event 25 –Living trails, the Catfarm team will host the artist for a four-week residency between June 30 and August 1^st, 2025.

Terms and conditions

• Open to artists of all ages and nationalities.
• The artist must be able to communicate in English, which is the most widely spoken language at Catfarm (currently home to residents of 11 different nationalities).
• The artist is invited to experiment and create in resonance with the residency site and the broader Event 25 –Living trails context.
• Applications must be individual*.
• The selected artist must commit to being on-site for four consecutive weeks within the given dates.
• The residency will include collaborative time with Catfarm residents.
• The artist should include in their proposal:
  – An interim public event at Catfarm (July) featuring amateur artistic practices.
  – A final presentation on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, during Event 25.

* In the case of a joint application (max. 2 artists), the final presentation for Event 25 must be a shared project.

Final Presentation

Catfarm, with support from Montpellier 2028 – Terres de culture, will organize the main presentation during Event 25 –Living trails.

Application

Application packages must include:

• an up-to-date biography and portfolio featuring the most relevant references,
• a statement of intent outlining the artist’s motivation for this residency, with particular attention to the criteria detailed in this call (max. 2 pages).
• The application package may not exceed 5 pages.
• All documents, not exceeding 20MB, must be submitted in PDF format using the following filenames: “LASTNAME_PORTFOLIO/BIO_CATFARM_E25” and “LASTNAME_STATEMENT_CATFARM_E25” send to both of the following addresses: community@catfarm.net and contact@montpellier2028.eu
• Please include the following information in the body of your email, without exception and in this order: Last name, First name, City, Phone number, Website, and Social media (if applicable).

Deadline for applications: May 14, 2025 (inclusive).

Download the Call for applications

The jury will deliberate on May 21, 2025.

#Residency #Research #Creation #Education

This Call for Applications is part of Event 25 – Living trails, led by M28 – Terres de culture.

Preamble

In line with their respective approaches to development and anchoring, and as part of the joint Event 25 – Living trails event, the Hérault Valley Cultural Office (OCVH/The Sonambule) and the Montpellier 2028 – Terres de culture association are launching a call for residencies entitled “A step towards the Abbey of Possibilities“ around Aniane Abbey, with students from the Simone Veil High School in Gignac.

This residency is part of a wider dynamic, in connection with the artistic and cultural project “The Abbey of Possibilities” led and devised by the OCVH and Montpellier 2028, in conjunction with the Communauté de Communes Vallée de l’Hérault as part of Event 25 – Living trails.

Since 2005, the Hérault Valley Cultural Office has been developing an artistic and cultural project within The Sonambule, a cultural facility owned by the municipality of Gignac, in the heart of the Hérault Valley and the Pays Cœur d’Hérault. The Sonambule is contributing to the ambitious project to restore and develop the site of the former abbey at Aniane undertaken by the Communauté de Communes Vallée de l’Hérault. The site stands out for its emblematic character, bearing witness to stories that have marked successive generations. These stories, like invisible threads, link us to the present and shape the future. The Abbey of Aniane occupies a central place in local history for what it was: a place of prayer and silence, a yarn factory, a penal institution; and for what it prefigures: a stimulating cultural centre for the territory. The Abbey of Aniane is conceived as a modal point, a place-creuset in the Hérault Valley. Now a derelict site, it sees its future through memory and heritage, as part of a contemporary, living approach.

The Montpellier 2028 Association was set up by Montpellier, Sète and a number of local authorities to work together on a bid to become the European Capital of Culture, using culture as a lever for an ambitious policy to transform the region. This first phase was the driving force behind a long-term strategy that led to the co-construction of a regional project involving numerous partners, economic, educational and social players.

As a continuation of the momentum that has been built up, and in view of the challenges ahead, Montpellier 2028 now aims to capitalise on the momentum established during the bid to pursue joint actions on the territory and :

• 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,
• To create a space for experimentation with new artistic forms and collaborations around the day-to-day problems of local residents and the major issues affecting the area,
• Take an experimental and cross-sectoral approach,
• Support joint projects, document them and give them shared visibility.

A major cultural event, “Living trails”, will be held from 26 September to 5 October 2025, at the end of a year of residencies and experiments.

The “A step towards the Abbey of Possibilities” residency, supported by The Sonambule team, gives an artist the opportunity to develop a local project as part of a process of intergenerational artistic creation and transmission, at the heart of an emblematic heritage site in the Hérault region.

The ancient monastery of Aniane was founded in 782. Much of the abbey was devastated during the Wars of Religion, and a reconstruction project followed, which was completed during the French Revolution. The abbey became national property and housed a spinning mill, which was later sold to the State to house a central prison in 1845. Forty years later, it became a penal colony for minors, then a public institution for supervised education in 1953, with a focus on vocational training. Following its closure in 1998, the site was abandoned. In 2010, the Communauté de Communes Vallée de l’Hérault bought the abbey so that it could be protected and developed.

This residency is intended to be a powerful lever for encouraging the circulation and encounter of an artist with the high school pupils of Gignac. The artist is invited to work with the pupils to create a work that relates to the emblematic site of Aniane Abbey, which is a religious, social and economic heritage site. The artist will highlight this historic crossroads of identity that has forged the various communities living there.

The artist will be accompanied by the local project team (the cultural learning officer and the director of the Cultural Office) and a contact person from Montpellier 2028 – Terres de culture.

General conditions of the residency

Expected artistic discipline

The expected discipline is writing, and in particular poetry, literature, drama, graphic novels and experimental writing.

The research part of the residency includes time for amateur artistic practice with students from the Simone Veil High School. The creative part of the residency necessarily involves a performance at Event 25 – Living trails.

Duration and hosting conditions

Three weeks of experimentation and creation, with access to the site and support from the local team. Accommodation – where necessary – is provided by The Sonambule on the following terms: a private space in the Simone Veil boarding school, comprising a bedroom with an office and a bathroom. The Sonambule team will also facilitate travel on site, particularly between the Aniane Abbey and the Simone Veil High School. A working room will be made available to the artist at the Simone Veil High School.

Grant

The residency is endowed with a grant of €5,000. This includes the artist’s remuneration, per diems and transport to and from Gignac.
An agreement will be drawn up between the Montpellier 2028 association, The Sonambule and the artist.

Duration

As part of Event 25 – Living trails, The Sonambule team is offering a three-week residency to an artist from 12 September to 4 October 2025 included.

Terms and conditions

• The call for applications is open to artists of any age and any location.
• The artist is invited to experiment and create, in keeping with the context of the place of residency and within the framework of Event 25 – Living trails.
• The artist responds to this application individually*.
• The selected artist commits to being on site for three consecutive weeks during the period set out above
• The residency will be punctuated by periods of work with students from the Simone Veil High School.
• The artist’s proposal includes an intermediate meeting at the Simone Veil High School with a series of amateur artistic practices on Monday 29 September 2025 and a major event on Saturday 4 October 2025 during Event 25.

The Sonambule will facilitate the link between the artist, teachers and students, as well as access to the abbey site.

*In the event of a group response (maximum two artists), the performance planned for Event 25 – Living trails must be a joint proposal.

Rendition

With the support of the Montpellier 2028 – Terres de Culture association, The Sonambule will be organising the major rendition event, namely the presentation at Event 25 – Living trails.

Application

Applications must include:

• an up-to-date biography and a portfolio with the most relevant references,
• a statement of intent setting out the artist’s motivations for this residency, with particular attention paid to the specifics set out in this call for applications. This note should be 2 pages long.
  The sum of the appendices must not exceed 5 pages.
• Dossier and note of intent, not exceeding 20Mb, must be uploaded in PDF format with the following headings: ‘NAME_PORTFOLIO/BIO_ABBAYE_E25’ and “NAME_NOTE_ABBAYE_E25”, to the following two addresses: candidatures@lesonambule.fr and contact@montpellier2028.eu
• We thank you in advance for including in the body of your message, without exception, the following information in this order: Last name, First name, City, Telephone number, Website and Social networks (if applicable).

Application deadline: 18 May 2025 included

Download the Call for applications

The jury will deliberate on Monday 02 June 2025.

18 h 00

“LET’S TALK ABOUT TOMORROW – Act, connect and celebrate with the living world“

This series of monthly meetings is part of Event 25 – Living trails. The aim of these meetings is to bring together professionals and members of the public involved in the M28 approach and to share ideas on M28 themes.

One Monday a month, two guest speakers – artists, researchers or project leaders – are invited to discuss thematic issues at the Hôtel d’Aurès in Montpellier, the beating heart of M28.

Reaching out to audiences #5

Monday 7 April 2025 at 6pm at the Hôtel d’Aurès in Montpellier on the theme of “Reaching out to the public”, with Elise Armentier and Julien Audemard.

Free admission, subject to availability

Elise Armentier

Elise Armentier is co-director of the Bouillon cube association based in Causse-de-la-Selle, a small village of 400 inhabitants in the heart of the Grand Pic Saint-Loup. Some 40 kilometres from Montpellier, the rocky terrain of Causse-de-la-Selle is home to La Grange, a rural third-party centre bustling with activity.
Bouillon cube has occupied the premises since the association was founded nearly 20 years ago, transforming this old stone farmhouse into a rural territory factory. The site is steeped in history and has undergone a number of transformations over the centuries, from silkworm farm to glassworks, farmhouse to manor house, and is now developing all kinds of original activities: concerts, artists’ residencies, European exchanges, workshops for young people, third-centre facilities, etc.
Bouillon cube is a structure that asserts its singularity and cultural identity by being firmly rooted in its local area, and by taking a popular education approach. Co-directed by Clayre Pitot and a group of volunteers, this social, cultural and economic project combines work, quality of life and human ties to serve the territory and its residents.

Julien Audemard

Julien Audemard is a university lecturer and researcher in political science at the CEPEL (CNRS, UMR5112) and the University of Montpellier. His research focuses on cultural practices and policies in France and Europe. He is also a specialist in the localised analysis of politics, quantitative survey methods and statistical analysis.
In particular, he worked on the 2018 survey of French cultural practices. He has taken part in several research projects on the territorial impact of festivals in mainland France and Guadeloupe. He was a member of the UNCHARTED project, funded by the European Commission, on the social values of culture. He is the author of a book on Cultural meeting centres (Faire Label, published in 2025 by Éditions de l’Attribut) and another on festival dynamics in France (Création et disparition des festivals en France, to be published next June by Presses de Sciences Po).

Montpellier 2028 was in Paris to submit our bid to the Ministry of Culture.

With : Michaël Delafosse, Mayor of Montpellier and President of Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole; Adèle Charvet, President of the Montpellier 2028 association; Sophie Léron, General Manager and Nicolas Dubourg, Artistic Director.

Montpellier and all its partner local authorities are working together on a truly ambitious, forward-looking and inclusive regional project. The artistic project presented in the bid is based on 3 concepts – CONNECT, ACT, CELEBRATE – and 3 axes – Living Trails, Time machine, Trans! – .

This bid is the fruit of a joint project involving all our partners across the region, Europe and the African continent.

A big thank you to everyone who shared their imaginations with us and helped us write new stories!

→ Download the FR version of the application form
→ Download the EN version of the application form

On Tuesday 21st December, Michaël Delafosse, Mayor of the City of Montpellier and President of Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole, officially submitted the Montpellier 2028 bid to the Ministry of Culture. The M28 bidbook was submitted on behalf of all the members of the “Montpellier 2028 – European Capital of Culture” association.

The event was marked by a convivial aperitif at the Hôtel d’Aurès, the former music conservatory of Montpellier, which is now the headquarters for the bid.

All the representatives of the partner local authorities as well as the founding patrons were present to celebrate this first stage of printing and submitting the bidbook to which everyone had contributed.

This collegial bid was prepared and drawn up with and for the inhabitants. We look forward to sharing the fruits of their valuable contributions and the new projects for 2023!

The press conference to present the winning projects for 2022 and the pre-bid agenda was held in the sumptuous Château Laurens in Agde (due to reopen in June 2023). It was also an opportunity to present the booklet for the public and the next four months of exciting programming to come. Quentin DMR, photographer/plastic artist, gave a sneak preview of the project based on “Urban Furniture”, led by Studio 411 and InSit’Arts. The Young European Baroque Orchestra (JOBE) also appeared and will put on a musical “Big weekend”, led by the Les Ombres company, during several flash concerts at the beginning of October throughout the Montpellier 2028 area.

Six photographers from the Tendance Floue collective (Pascal Aimar, Denis Bourges, Yohanne Lamoulère, Flore-Aël Surun, Patrick Tourneboeuf and Alain Willaume) took a unique look at the area covered by Montpellier’s pre-bid for the title of European Capital of Culture 2028. From Montpellier’s first tramway line to the Pic-Saint Loup, on the water, on the roads or on the back streets, these artists have conveyed all the diversity and richness of the region.

The public was able to follow their Montpellier 2028 project – on Instagram – right from their very first photos This storytelling approach was aimed at creating a kind of immersive experience while building a special relationship with the public, allowing them to share in the photographers’ journey. A podcast version of the experiences of the six photographers rounded off the event and can be found at the bottom of this page.

The presentation of their work, devised in a participatory format, took place over three days. Part of the Hôtel d’Aurès, at the heart of the bid, was taken over by Tendance Floue photographers and transformed into a newsroom for the occasion. This allowed the public to see the creative process in action and to talk to the people involved in the project. Three of the photographers, joined by the graphic designer Sylvie Meunier, worked on the design of this fanzine, in collaboration with five students from the MO.CO – École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Montpellier (Alix Salel, Foix Nicolas, Audrey Sales Albella, Elina Pechena, Varvara Klymenko).

The residency ended on Friday 23 September at 8.30 pm with an outdoor celebration open to all. This evening was an opportunity to present the fanzine and show the works in the form of a live photo-concert, with the participation of the Collectif Koa.

→ Listen to the residency podcasts

→ Download fanzine

Wednesday 8 June saw the inaugural General Meeting of the “Montpellier 2028 – European Capital of Culture” association.

All the partner communities were represented. Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole, the City of Montpellier, the City of Sète, Sète Agglopôle, the Occitanie Region, the Department of Hérault and the Communites of Municipalities of Pic Saint Loup,
Hérault Méditerranée, Vallée de l’Hérault and Pays de Lunel all proved the commitment of an entire region to this bid.

The elected Board of Directors represents the driving forces of the area: local authorities, associate members from the economic, educational and cultural sectors, representatives from sponsor boards, urban sustainable development and tourism
all of whom will play an active role in the association’s activities. Adèle Charvet was appointed as President of the association, Claire Fita as Vice-President, Max Ponseillé as Treasurer and Frédéric Schlesinger as Secretary.

This association, which has now become the body responsible for the bid, will be in charge of steering the project. Its role will be to draw up the bid documents, coordinate and lead the projects and partnerships with all involved, determine the objectives and guidelines for the cultural programme, secure the necessary funding and carry out all actions necessary for the bid to succeed.

 

A trip packed with opportunities to meet and share with a strong delegation from Montpellier in Palermo.

Discussions on the European project Rizoma launched by Leoluca Orlando, presentation of Kultur Ensemble Palermo, development of the future Sète-Palermo Festival and talks of future cooperation between cultural organisations and schools from our regions.

The Montpellier 2028 project is also being shaped in Palermo, with a delegation from Montpellier visiting the Italian city that was the European Capital of Culture in 2018.

Let’s take a look back at the press conference that took place on the morning of Tuesday 12 July 2022 in the gardens of the Maison des Relations Internationales for the presentation of the cultural projects selected for 2022 as part of Montpellier’s pre-bid for the title of European Capital of Culture 2028.

All the partner communities were represented.

It was an opportunity for some of the winning organisations, such as Bona Jornada, Bouillon Cube, Chagall sans M, La Fenêtre and MIAM, Medi Fav, Les Loustics du Pic and YOCOM, to present their projects scheduled to take place between August and December 2022 throughout the bid area.

All the winning structures will present their projects throughout the Montpellier 2028 territory, scheduled between August and December 2022.

Discover the 2022 programme resulting from the first Call for Projects