Definition of an Artistic Project

At the southern end of the Ile Saint Denis, on a former industrial and commercial site, an exemplary eco-neighbourhood is being built which at every stage of the project has risen to the twin challenges of sustainable development and urban ecology. This is the area where Bellastock decided to set up its laboratory for recycling building materials. But then along came the Olympic Games to interrupt the project. Although an entire section of the new neighbourhood – the area furthest from the centre – had already been completed, the Olympic Committee chose the site for the Olympic Village, meaning that the next delivery date for the neighbourhood has had to be postponed to 2025. The question is what to do for the new residents who find themselves somewhat cut off in their yet-to-be-completed development ?

The SEM Plaine Commune Développement – the contracting authority of the riverside eco-neighbourhood of Île-Saint-Denis (93) – the Plaine Commune metropolitan area, “Region of culture and creation”, and the town of Ile-St-Denis wanted to establish an artistic and urban project as an integral part of the social fabric of the area whose development has been brought to an abrupt halt. Working alongside them, we offered support to the contracting authority through a study defining the remit of this artistic residence and organising consultations with all the different teams. This seemed to us fundamental to the future residential complex: to enable the local inhabitants to test out different types of relationships and collective organisation in order to truly take possession of the new neighbourhood, plan for its future and create something shared. As a result of the consultation 6B was chosen to go ahead with its project “The Map and the Region,” bringing together the artists Polysémique, Laurence Gatti, Jackson Thélémaque and Emma Cossée Cruz.