Interview Stefan Shankland par Marseille-Provence2013

Marseille-Provence 2013 and Marseille Provence Métropole will manage the Creative Urban Projects programme as part of the European Regional Development Fund’s operational programme “Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur”, which runs from 2007 to 2013. The agreements signed yesterday are another step towards projects bringing together artists and residents in urban areas undergoing transformation.

The Creative Urban Projects programme, which targets priority zones identified by the public interest grouping Politique de la Ville, has three main objectives:

• to get artists involved in urban renovation and transformation through national and European projects;
• to encourage economic development and employment opportunities in these neighbourhoods through cultural activities; and
• to increase social and regional cohesion to better integrate these regions through citizen involvement.

Two of the eight artists participating in this project were present when the agreements were signed. A third took part by video, visible above (in French).

The first artists, Gabi Farage and the Bruit du Frigo collective, will set up in the Porte d’Aix neighbourhood. Their project will be based on encounters with regional actors, associations and other urban forces driving the city’s economy. Several portraits (and other pieces of artwork) will be visible in the area, inviting residents and visitors to follow a “comic street” art trail. Joint activities bringing together artists, residents and other interested parties, will take place until March. The results will go on show near the Arc de Triomphe, which will become the Republican showroom of these collective inventions.

The second artist, Jean-Luc Brisson, will explore the idea of banks at Plan d’Aou neighbourhood. By asking residents to draw banknotes, he catches glimpses of their hidden desires. His Bank of Paradise also includes agencies, which will remain in the area after the project, becoming kiosks and folies in the park to be built in the future.

This project is supported by Marseille Provence Métropole, with funding from the European Regional Development Fund.