Olympic and Paralympic Village

Client SOLIDEO
Places Saint-Ouen, Saint-Denis, France
Date 2019-2025

SOLIDEO appointed Manifesto and Gaël Charbau to oversee the artistic direction of the Olympic and Paralympic Village in Saint-Denis and Saint-Ouen.

SOLIDEO is responsible for delivering the facilities and infrastructure required for the Paris 2024 Games. Developing the Olympic and Paralympic Village is an urban and regional project on an incredible scale. The focus on legacy is at the heart of the project: the aim is to build a new neighborhood, in which the Games are a major but one-off event. Art will play a key role: the neighborhood will house a series of permanent artworks.

The Olympic Village will be emblematic of France's leadership in sustainable and cutting edge urban design and planning. A strong artistic program will be at its core. 

Following a call for tenders, SOLIDEO has entrusted the artistic direction to Manifesto, which has joined forces with the curator Gaël Charbau, artistic Director of Nuit Blanche 2018. Manifesto and Gaël Charbau have developed the Courants Fertiles narrative, a collective narrative that will be constructed with the inhabitants and artists, and that will give rise to an itinerary of permanent works of art in the public spaces of the future district.. Articulated in six chapters, Courant Fertiles identifies the key issues for this future-oriented neighborhood, such as ecology, history, and living together, and invites a real reflection on art in the public space. Manifesto is in charge of the organization of the six Courants Fertiles calls for creation. The first call for creation, Racines, was won by the artist Laurent Grasso in November 2021. Inspired by the history of the cities of Saint-Denis and Saint-Ouen, the artist imagined Les Racines du futur, a work that revolves around a motif of duplicated flowers, selected for their symbolic link with the history of this territory. They will be embodied in 15 small sculptures - bronze bas-reliefs - placed in the public space, on Ampère street, like portholes  that establish bridges between the history and the future of the territory. The Seuils and Symbiose calls for proposals were launched in late 2021 and will be awarded in September 2022. 

Manifesto is also working with the developers in charge of constructing private housing on the site, to ensure the cohesion of the artistic approach throughout the ZAC. This mission consolidates our commitment to transform the city through art.

Laurent Grasso, winner of the "Magic Roots" call for creation

The first call for creation, Racines, was won by the artist Laurent Grasso in November 2021.

Ugo Schiavi, winner of the "Collective Magic" call for creation

Within the framework of the Courants Fertiles narrative elaborated by Manifesto and Gaël Charbau for the Société de livraison des ouvrages olympiques (SOLIDEO), the work Euphoria by the artist Ugo Schiavi has been selected to perpetuate the artistic and cultural anchorage of the Athletes' Village long after the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Ugo Schiavi's mural will be based on the participation of the local community, echoing the tradition of the figurative frescoes of the Games while encouraging the transmission and appropriation of these new places by the inhabitants and future users of the district. With Euphoria, the artist will represent a scene of collective celebration leading to a general euphoria.

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