Re/claiming Civic Space to Support Cultural Well-Being

City Cité Atlanta x Marseille explores the city’s role and responsibility in the cultural well-being of its visitors and residents. Friche la Belle de Mai, a former tobacco factory turned major cultural institution in Marseille, France provides a fascinating case study on the social, environmental and economic impact of this reclaimed space supported by public and private institutions.  

Atlanta, having not made similar investments in cultural infrastructure, has lost and continues to lose cultural spaces due to rising real estate costs or has sold facilities like the Atlanta Civic Center to developers. Given the lessons of Friche la Belle de Mai, how can the city of Atlanta reassert its civic vocation by reclaiming civic spaces for culture?  

Join us as we invite Friche la Belle de Mai management team and gather city leaders, cultural institution directors, urban planners, architects and artists from Marseille and Atlanta to make a case for the role of cultural infrastructure in the making of great cities.   

SCHEDULE

5:00 pm | Reception

6:00 pm | General Presentation: Cities, Culture & Society

Introduction 

Heather Infantry, arts advocate, Generator & David Ruffel, Cultural Attaché, Villa Albertine 

Global Perspectives on Alternative Cultural Places 

Sabir Khan, Associate Professor, College of Design, Georgia Institute of Technology 

Marseille, urban geographies 

Alexandre Grondeau, Associate, Aix/Marseille University  

Marseille, a cultural portrait 

Alexandre Field, Architect, Marseille School of Architecture / Bureau des guides 

6:45 pm | Case Study: Friche la Belle de Mai

Friche la Belle de Mai, a collective presentation  

Alban Corbier-Labasse, Director, Friche la Belle de mai  

Lucie Duriez, Director of Cultural Development, Friche la Belle de Mai  

Victorine Grataloup, Director Triangle – Astérides, Visual Arts, Friche la Belle de Mai 

Elodie Le Breut, Director AMI, Music, Friche la Belle de Mai 

7:30 pm | Q & A: What should Atlanta take from this experience?

Introduction and moderation by Ryan Gravel, urban planner and designer, Generator, with Oshun Layne, Executive Director, Dashboard. 

8:30 pm | A Plan of Action: Re/claiming Civic Space to Support Cultural Well-Being

Mapping Lost Cultural Spaces in Atlanta + A Plan of Action 

Heather Infantry, arts advocate, Generator

Sabir Khan, Associate Professor, College of Design, Georgia Institute of Technology 

“Re/claiming Civic Space to Support Cultural Well-Being” is presented at Aftercar by Villa Albertine and Generator with the support of the College of Design at Georgia Tech, France Atlanta and Atlanta Design Festival.

Designed in 2015 and first implemented in Chicago and San Francisco, CITY CITÉ is a transatlantic cooperation and exchange program on urban issues and city making, initiated by Villa Albertine, the cultural institution of the French Embassy in the US.

In 2022, CITY CITÉ comes to Atlanta for the first time on the occasion of the French Consulate’s annual France-Atlanta program, Atlanta Design Festival and the City of Atlanta’s ELEVATE festival. CITY CITÉ – Atlanta x Marseille 2022 aims to make a case for the role of culture in urban and social development, by creating a dialogue between cities of Atlanta and Marseille and inviting La Friche la Belle de Mai, a major institution in Marseille, at the forefront of cultural, social, environmental and urban innovation.

CITY CITÉ – Atlanta x Marseille 2022 is supported by the Institut français, Villa Albertine, The City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs and France-Atlanta.