Bilan 2023 – At the heart of creative and cultural ecosystems

The month of January is an opportunity to take stock of our agency’s activities in 2023 {CORRESPONDANCES DIGITALES].

This has been a year rich in discoveries, fruitful collaborations and significant advances. As a network agency dedicated to cultural venues, territories and their creative ecosystems, our daily mission has been to support your cultural projects with an ever-renewed passion.

1. In 2023, we supported…

1.1. …teams from different cultural venues

Digital culture is now developing around cultural immersion. Many questions remain concerning the operational deployment of experiences in cultural venues, in terms of production, exploitation (in situ or off-site) and distribution in France and abroad.

Immersive mediations are proliferating, driven by public and private funding, a rich creative ecosystem and significant technological advances. These works or devices take the form of works, experiences, exhibitions or itineraries. Most of Europe’s major museums have already opened hybrid immersive spaces, or are in the process of doing so. According to the Museum Innovation Barometer study published by Museum Booster in 2021, 23% of the 200 museums interviewed from 39 different countries have succeeded in designing and launching new formats and digital tools capable of generating revenue. Examples include Aura Invalides at the Musée de l’Armée, immersive museography at the new Musée de la Marine, Van Gogh’s Palette at the Musée d’Orsay, the mixed-reality experience at Hangar Y, the new permanent tour at Bordeaux’s Cité du Vin, and the opening of the Centre des Lumières at the Saline Royale d’Arc-et-Senans.

These operational challenges, linked to cultural immersion, gave our agency the opportunity to work with various cultural institutions such as :

• Musée d’Orsay: support in defining the international distribution strategy for Musée d’Orsay exhibitions and immersive experiences.
• Universcience A trend report on the use of digital immersion in a scientific mediation context & recommendations on operating/distribution standards to launch an immersive room when the Palais de la Découverte reopens in 2025.
• Paris Musées launch and management of a call for expressions of interest to identify new partners and new digital and immersive projects (over 90 international creative studios responded, 124 projects submitted, a digital strategy defined for the next 2 years).

1.2. … teams from different territories and public organizations

Local authorities are more inclined to energize their creative and cultural ecosystems by creating synergies between territories, cultural venues and innovative, creative businesses. Public organizations (ministries, public funding bodies, tourism development agencies, etc.) are also keen to federate the communities they are responsible for. Territories and public organizations are thus seeking to understand the needs and expectations of the cultural and entrepreneurial players in your networks and territories, as well as to identify possible actions to promote and enhance them, including through the creation and organization of professional events.

These different challenges have led our agency to work with :

Studies :

• Atout France / Banque des Territoires: study on “Digital and immersive experiences in the heritage sector” (Overview, potential and opportunities for the use of digital immersion in heritage sites).
• Organization of events and delegations :
• Ministry of the Armed Forces / Directorate of Remembrance, Culture and Archives (DMCA): organization and running of an event to launch the next edition of the “Innovative digital services for remembrance tourism” call for projects.
• French Ministry of Culture: support for a delegation of French companies from the cultural and creative industries in Montreal.
• Région Grand Est The second edition of the Rencontres internationales de la Culture, de la Connaissance et de l’Immersif (RICCI) in Metz and coaching for companies in the region’s cultural and creative industries.
• Museum Connections Innovation: programming and hosting of inspiring feedback from cultural venues and their partners during the show (Innovation Duos) and at meet-ups throughout the year.

Managing innovative local cultural projects:

• Epinal town council: framing of a project for a territorial center dedicated to images and definition of a roadmap.
• Gouzon town council: coordination of the design of an accessible heritage trail.

1.3. …and event development

The challenge of formatting the digital cultural content created motivates companies in the cultural industries to renew their production processes. Anticipating distribution, for example, enables production models to be optimized. Indeed, distributing immersive works or experiences requires the mobilization of dedicated resources and skills, the active management of a network of partners, the ability to adapt the experience and manage exploitation rights. This is why producers anticipate distribution upstream, in order to best adapt a production to the venues that will host it (surface area, equipment…), and to adapt content to the audiences who will discover it (countries / continents, languages, culture and understanding…) in multi-channel distribution logics (in terms of venues, but also of technical distribution, from XR to large format for example).

These issues led {CORRESPONDANCES DIGITALES] to co-produce an international event: NUMIX LAB.

NUMIX LAB After three editions in Europe and Canada, which have helped to federate a solid French-speaking ecosystem around immersion and fostered the development of numerous international co-productions, the community gathered for 5 days of meetings between Brussels and Amsterdam, with over 210 participants from a dozen countries. 37% of participants came from immersive creation, 34% from cultural venues and 29% were financiers, institutions and solution providers.

2. Publications, resources and information about the agency

2.1. Articles published in 2023 :

• Welcoming and developing audiences: what links are there between public cultural venues and private partners?
• How do you co-produce innovative, immersive experiences?
• Making heritage enhancement a territorial, social and environmental challenge.
• How do museums go green?
• Promote and export the expertise of French cultural institutions internationally.
• Feedback on the 2nd edition of RICCI (October 4 / 5 in Metz)
• Building a collective transformation, some feedback.
• Artificial intelligence at the heart of the visitor experience: a selection of international case studies.

2.2. Interviews published (“3 questions to…”) in 2023 :

• Karine MARCHADOUR (Cité du Vin de Bordeaux)
• Margherita BALZERANI (Louvre Lens Valley).
• Marine HAVERLAND (FOMO.SCENE).
• Emilia RIQUET (Musée de l’Homme).
• Florence BRACHET-CHAMPSAUR, Head of Heritage and Patronage, SNCF
• Janaïne Golonka, research engineer and cultural innovation developer, creator of the Rivesaltes VR experience
• Bettina Loppe, Project Manager for SPUR.lab (the “laboratory of traces”), dedicated to digital innovation in the memorial heritage associated with concentration camps and National Socialism in Brandenburg.

2.3. Our agency

{CORRESPONDANCES DIGITALES] is a gas pedal of innovative and sustainable cultural projects. A networked agency for cultural venues, territories and their creative ecosystems, to support your cultural projects.

That’s what we’re all about.

• Expertise at the crossroads of innovation, audiovisual and heritage.
• Approaches based on operational diagnostics: analysis of audience practices and uses, audit of visitor itineraries, evaluation of offers and mediation or communication media, comparative studies.
• Inclusive approaches co-constructed with your teams, audiences and/or partners.
• A determination to build strategies and projects with sustainability in mind.

Antoine ROLAND: With more than 16 years’ experience in consulting, Antoine ROLAND has been leading strategy and project management consulting assignments in a wide range of fields since 2006. He founded {CORRESPONDANCES DIGITALES] in 2012. An expert in innovation and new models of collaboration in the cultural sector, he assists numerous private players, cultural and heritage venues, ministries and local authorities in defining their strategies and implementing their projects.

Christophe SALOMON : With over 30 years’ experience in the audiovisual sector (production of some 100 films for France Télévision, Canal + and Médiawan), Christophe SALOMON joins {CORRESPONDANCES DIGITALES] in 2019. Formerly head of development for French-language and digital creation at Sunny Side of the Doc (which led to the creation of PIXII, an international meeting and networking event for players in digital culture), he is developing {CORRESPONDANCES DIGITALES] ‘s business in France and internationally. He produces and organizes numerous events, and contributes his audiovisual expertise to numerous consulting missions.

Baudouin DUCHANGE: With over 3 years’ experience, Baudouin DUCHANGE joined {CORRESPONDANCES DIGITALES] in 2021. A former lawyer with the UIMM, he brings to the agency his expertise in analyzing cultural and creative ecosystems, coordinating heritage projects and carrying out diagnostics and consulting assignments.