The Bureau des Images, on the initiative of the Région Grand Esthas organized the 2nd edition of the Rencontres Internationales, de la Culture, de la Connaissance et de l’Immersif in Bliiida (Metz) on Wednesday 4 and Thursday 5 October 2023 (see program).
This edition focused on the contributions, challenges and development methods of digital and immersive projects in cultural venues and territories. Aimed at local authorities, museums and creative studios, this event is a must-attend at Grand Est for those involved in digital creation in the fields of culture, knowledge and memory. This article presents a summary of the various panels discussed over the two days..
Panel 1 – How can immersive projects help local communities?
To return to the territorial benefits of immersion, various regional and neighboring projects have illustrated the complementary nature of tourism development, audience development and digital mediation. Four projects were presented:
- The Métamorph’eauses festival in Chalons-en-Champagne to develop the appeal of a region (Laurence Padiou, director of the Chalons-en-Champagne tourist office);
- The Centre de Lumières at the Saline d’Arc-et-Senans as a means of diversifying and attracting new audiences (Nicolas Combes, Deputy General Manager of the EPCC Salines Arc-et-Senans);
- Pressoria, an interpretation center dedicated to the wines of Champagne, promoting an interpretative, multi-sensory approach to this terroir (Victor Canchon, Director);
- The Cité du Vitrail, which promotes the intangible heritage of a region and its know-how (Chloé Dutertre, Communications and Digital Officer).
Panel presentations
Panel 2 – What are the strategies for setting up and financing a digital or immersive creation project on the scale of a venue or community?
The implementation of innovative projects requires the creation of conditions conducive to innovation, the promotion and diversification of public-private partnerships, and the active support of local authorities and their partners, both financially and in terms of expertise.
This was the challenge of this panel, which highlighted strategies for financing digital and immersive projects on a site or community scale by :
- The implementation of an experimentation program to source innovations, with feedback from the Museum Lab of the Pôle muséal de Mons in Belgium (Xavier Roland, Director of the Pôle muséal de Mons);
- Co-production for immersive projects: the example of the Champollion VR experience at Louvre-Lens (Véronique Petitjean, Director of Communications, Development and Major Events at Louvre-Lens) ;
- The implementation of an experimental program for the creation of a cultural chatbot (Ask Lea) for the Museums of the city of Reims (Director of the Museums of Reims);
- Launching calls for expressions of interest or calls for projects, such as the Région Grand Est co-creation workshop at the Musée de la Cour d’Or (Philippe Brunella, Director of the Museum and Archaeology / Chief Curator of Heritage, Eurométropole de Metz).
Panel presentations
Panel 3 – How can immersive projects be sustained over time?
The mobilization of different types of funding and the need to experiment are also the guarantee, paradoxically, that such projects will endure over time. To discuss these sustainability issues, a number of topics were discussed, including :
- Setting up artistic projects that promote eco-responsibility through close cooperation between the local population and the international creative community. This is the angle suggested to us by the director of Lyon’s Fêtes des Lumières (Julien Pavillard);
- The development of a virtuous, sustainable program in close contact with the local area. This is the purpose of the Musicaventure project, led by the Abbaye aux Dames in Saintes, and designed in close collaboration with a number of local players, both public and private (Frédéric Saint-Pol, Deputy General Manager).
- The creation of a creative ecosystem that fosters collaboration between students and professionals. This is what the Fête des Images d’Epinal is all about, with a full-scale workshop organized in conjunction with the Ecole des Gobelins, the Ecole Méliès and ESAL (Marie-Jeanne Gauthé, Scénographe vidéo designer).
- Diversification of cultural programming to promote emerging digital arts projects, while ensuring an artistic and economic balance with other cultural offerings. Yves Conrardy, Head of Socio-Cultural and Event Programs at Les Rotondes, Luxembourg’s cultural and artistic center, spoke about this topic.
Panel presentations
