Inauguration of the night-time sound and light trail AURA at the Dôme des Invalides, the launch of the virtual reality experience Missing Worlds at Muséum national d’histoire naturelle or the second edition of the participative show Secret Défense at the Château de Rambouillet … In recent years, examples of experiential proposals from cultural institutions have been piling up. They all share a common promise: to help develop audiences and their engagement through the use of immersive processes, whether narrative, sensory or emotional.
While most of these experiences are considered “immersive”, they nevertheless cover a diversity of approaches, from the performing arts for theatrical performances (historical re-enactments, improvisations, immersive theater, escape games, etc.) to the technological and audiovisual sectors for digital formats (virtual reality, mapping, augmented reality, sound immersion, etc.).
The high cost of such productions, and the need to call on professions and skills linked to fields of artistic creativity and production other than those intrinsic to cultural institutions, are encouraging the development of co-production approaches with private partners. These new forms of public-private collaboration are emerging at all levels of project creation, operation and distribution. This article shares a few experiences (both temporary and permanent) to provide an overview of the dynamics currently at work between the heritage, audiovisual and performing arts sectors.
1. How can the co-production of shows help enrich the cultural and event programming of a cultural site?
As the academic Daniel Jacobi in an article on temporary exhibitionsfrom the 1960s onwards, museums and heritage sites embarked on a frantic race for communication and events. This race can be explained, in part, by structural societal changes and by the political pressure exerted on museums to develop their own resources and audiences. This in turn intensifies the need for museums to renew their programming on a regular basis through events (and thus to open up to the performing arts in particular).
It’s against this backdrop that a growing number of cultural and heritage sites are calling on private partners to create and run their event projects: performing arts companies, event management firms, show producers, and so on. Openness to these partners encourages the creation of original and original events to attract and retain new audiences. This is the approach adopted by the Domaine départemental de Candé since 2020. In collaboration with event producer 5ème Acte, the domain hosts a giant cluedo during the high season. This is a way for the site to enhance its (already) broad cultural offering (tours, activities, art trails) and liven up the summer season with an additional event proposal, with a dedicated price offer that is economically independent of the other activities on offer (accessible by reservation only, with a pricing policy of €15 to €19).
These collaborations also have the virtue of delegating to private operators the responsibility for the investment required to produce these projects, in return for a return of investment on operation. As specialists in the performing arts and event organization, these operators generally offer cultural venues a turnkey package. Given that their expertise differs from that of cultural institutions, they naturally bear the costs of creating and producing these proposals: remuneration of authors, artists, technicians and administrative and construction staff, purchase or rental of the necessary equipment (sets, machinery, scenography, etc.). Private operators, who bear this risk, reimburse this initial investment when the show opens, through revenue-sharing arrangements, payment of a royalty or a guaranteed minimum, as is common practice in the live performance sector (the right to use a show, generally granted as part of a temporary occupation of a space).
Specializing in the creation and operation of customized shows and events for cultural and heritage sites, Polaris Productions has developed a particularly inspiring model combining professional event production and volunteer mobilization. With each production, local volunteers are recruited and encouraged to co-design their projects, thus creating a strong local base and guaranteeing the success of their productions. According to studies carried out on various Polaris shows, 30% of spectators return to see the show the following year, and 70% say they want to visit the venue after the show. It was with this participatory approach that Polaris Productions launched its Secret Défense show at the Château de Rambouillet (Centre des monuments nationaux). Over 600 volunteers came together over 4 weekends to bring the meeting between Eisenhower and De Gaulle to life for more than 20,000 visitors. This is a significant number for a venue that welcomes an average of 40,000 visitors a year (46,753 in 2019). In terms of business model, these different shows are entirely financed by ticket sales (€8 children’s rate and €17 adult rate for Secret Défense) and do not benefit from public subsidies. Each show is designed to run at the same venue for several years running.
Another inspiring example is the productions by Léonard Matton’s company. After Hamlet at the Château de Vincennes, the company staged an immersive play, Le Fléau, in August at the Domaine du Palais Royal. Of a budget of 220,000 euros, 45,000 euros came from public bodies such as the Centre des Monuments Nationaux, and 75,000 euros from private sponsorship by the Fondation Polycarpe. The rest of the funding comes from ticket sales. Mounting immersive theater pieces is still as financially complicated as ever, as there is still no specific public aid,” laments the director in an article in Le Figaro.
Generally speaking, in the performing arts, ticket sales cover about a third of financing needs. For a private project owner, the aim may be to establish a long-term relationship with the cultural venue, in order to amortize the investment costs of the show by integrating it into a recurring cultural program.
These co-production models, specific to live performance, are also becoming increasingly common for financing immersive digital experiences or exhibitions, and are inspired by processes common in the audiovisual production sector.
2. How can the co-production of digital experiences enrich the cultural programming of a cultural site?
The production of digital experiences and exhibitions often involves high costs and specific technical skills. These characteristics are leading more and more cultural venues to enter into co-production partnerships with design studios or audiovisual producers. As part of this partnership, it is essential to define a financing plan clearly establishing the initial contributions of each party (cash, expertise or resources) and the distribution of roles and profits. The legal and economic models are (once again) particularly varied: simple partnership agreement, temporary space occupation agreement, public service delegation, acquisition or transfer of rights, etc.
This kind of contractual arrangement can be envisaged over several years, in order to amortize the production costs of these experiential offerings through recurrent, seasonal operation of a project. This is the case, for example, with the Vaux-le-Vicomte en lumières festival , which boosts winter visitors to the estate, or the Nuit aux Invalides (Night at the Invalides ) organized by the Amaclio company. Every summer between 2012 and 2022, a sound and light show came to life in the Cour d’Honneur of Les Invalides, with 180-degree 3D image projections on over 250 meters of facade. More than 650,000 visitors enjoyed the show. The event was made possible by a temporary authorization to occupy the site, with the payment of royalties on ticket sales. Three-year agreements have also been signed between the two partners to ensure the event’s long-term viability and a fair return on the investment made by Amaclio. This event-based approach has also been adopted by the Centre des Monuments Nationaux, which organizes immersive night-time shows in the Abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel, also produced by Amaclio. The same show ran for the first 4 years (Les chroniques du Mont), before evolving in 2022 and 2023 for the site’s millennium. The seasonal offer is now perfectly identified with tourism partners (tourist offices, accommodation and catering facilities, etc.).
In addition to these special events, this co-production approach can also be deployed as part of a temporary exhibition project, or even integrated into a venue’s permanent program. This more perennial approach is the one currently implemented by the AURA multimedia show under the dome of the Hôtel des Invalides. Over several years, a sound and light show and night-time tour of the dome will be offered. This proposal will enhance the site’s visitor potential and attract new visitors with an attractive, innovative offer. Illustrating the renewal of heritage uses, this daring tripartite co-production is the initiative of Cultival (operation) in co-production with the Musée de l’Armée (reception, scientific content and scenario, visitors) and Moment Factory (creation and production).
By contributing their production know-how, private partners from the events, theater and audiovisual sectors meet the needs of cultural venues by contributing their expertise. Defined in terms of a balanced partnership, these collaborations enable projects to be co-constructed through mutual contributions of expertise and resources, which are perhaps less valued in the context of a public commission. These proposals also contribute to opening up and enriching the cultural programming of these cultural and heritage sites through ambitious and innovative event and digital projects.
Antoine ROLAND and Baudouin DUCHANGE
