Newly appointed deputy for culture and cultural rights in Villeurbanne, Pauline Diaz lays the foundations of her roadmap. Evoking the expected excitement of the Festival des Invites, the new assistant confides in the ambitions of a mandate placed under the sign of accessibility and co-construction.
From the start of her mandate after the municipal elections, Pauline Diaz wanted to mark a symbolic but profound evolution. With the renaming of its delegation, now titled “Culture and Cultural Rights”. A concept still unknown to the general public, which she is quick to clarify.
“We often think that cultural rights boil down to access to culture for all. It’s more than that,” explains the elected official from Villeurbanne. “It is a fundamental right which guarantees the expression of one’s identity or cultural identities. Access to artistic education, and also the sharing of common references. HAS”
For the new assistant, culture must no longer be thought of in silos. But like a transversal subject irrigating all the other delegations of the municipality. The objective? Move away from a purely academic vision of art (literature, classical painting). To include languages, values, and also the common history of the inhabitants.
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From activism to town hall: the first dive of a local elected official
Although this is her first experience as an elected official of the Republic, Pauline Diaz is not a novice to the Villeurbanne landscape. Committed on a professional level and also a volunteer through the associative and activist environment, she sees this function as a “logical continuation”.
Arriving in Villeurbanne a few years ago, she says she was immediately seduced by the local dynamic and also the cohesion of previous municipal teams. His working method to design his future budget roadmapexpected for the start of the school year? Active listening…
Meet cultural structures and associations, work together with the city’s technical services. And also pool resources between the different delegations to co-build projects.
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The Festival of Guests: street culture in Villeurbanne
It’s impossible to talk about Villeurbanne’s cultural policy without mentioning its flagship event:and Festival des Invites. Pour Pauline Diazthis festival is the perfect mirror of the cultural DNA of the city, which she readily compares to a culture that is fundamentally popular and also accessible from a very young age.
With almost 50,000 spectators expected over three days, Les Invites has established itself as one of the largest street arts festivals in France. Its singularity? It is not only aimed at Villeurbanne residents, it involves them directly. This year again, more than 150 citizens actively participate alongside the Frappaz workshops to bring to life grandiose shows.
The very essence of street arts is to shake up boundaries. Pauline Diaz insists on the event being completely free, a strong political choice despite global budgetary restrictions.
“Street arts make it possible to break down the barriers between private and public spaces, to reinvest a street that is sometimes less welcoming for some. This is the advantage of culture within everyone’s reach: you don’t need to have read the great authors to be amazed. HAS”
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Between heritage and new developments: the major projects to come
Yes, yes Festival of Guests or the Fête du Livre remain essential pillars, Pauline Diaz is also looking towards the future. Villeurbannestrong in its title of French capital of culture in 2022capitalizes on successes such as the system of « Mini Mix » (cultural mediators integrated into schools).
The roadmap for the coming years will combine support for historic institutions (such as the TNP or the Le Zola Cinema) and the emergence of new places of life, including a new media library and infrastructure renovation projects.
The watchword of the new assistant remains diversity of scales and subjects : from large festive gatherings to intimate micro-shows, through committed programming addressing the féminismeTHE LGBTQIA+ rightsor the handicap. An open invitation to all metropolitan residents to “let themselves be surprised” on the corner of a Villeurbanne street.
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