15BIS# Transition
TYPE Local development
STATUS In Progress
DATE 2013 > Ongoing
LOCATION Montreuil, Murs à Pêches
PARTNERS Ecodrom, Fondation Abbé Pierre, Acina, Lieux Possibles, Les Fripons, Joana Zimmermann, Les Pierres de Montreuil, Ladomifa, Antenne de Vie du Quartier “Marcel Cachin”, La Collecterie, La Koncepterie, Le Sens de l’Humus
FINANCIAL SUPPORTERS Fondation Abbé Pierre, Ville de Montreuil, Est Ensemble, Caisse des Dépôts, OFAJ, Région Île-de-France, Crowdfunding and Fondation Somfy via les Petites Pierres
The Transition of the Plot
Since 2018, Quatorze has gradually been working on transitioning this plot of land into a common space following the city’s promise to rehouse the families living there by the end of 2020. The team facilitated a number of events in connection with neighbourhood festivals to allow inhabitants of the surrounding area to discover the land, whose future will be invented by the community at large. Art installations, exploratory walks, concerts, dance performances, … have all been opportunities to provoke encounters and shift the visitors’ view of the precarious habitat.
Art Installations
For a year and a half, Quatorze has collaborated with visual artists Joana Zimmermann and Lulù Nuti on the Autour des Murs project. The installation of their respective works on the plot of land has allowed visitors to look at the space with a new perspective, particularly for Parisian visitors who may not have discovered the area without an invitation. Beyond enhancing the vibrancy of the plot, their work highlights the heritage and cultural value of this atypical place.
Exploratory Walk
In partnership with the organization Womenability (Cities of Hospitality project), Quatorze organized an exploratory walk as part of an event held to promote sharing, participation, and discovery amongst the residents of Montreuil (Routes du Partage) on May 19th, 2019. Bringing together the inhabitants of the shantytown and the city, the team proposed a guided walk in the neighbourhood and through the settlement – the route of which was co-designed with the participants. Everyone was provided with notebooks to fill in with the purpose of nourishing Quatorze’s reflection on the transformation of the plot of land into a common space.
Concert and Exhibition
In June 2019, Quatorze asked the Tzigane music group Gata Perra to come and give a small concert during the 19th edition of the Festival des Murs à Pêches. The inhabitants and the various associations implicated in the project opened their doors to the wider public for the occasion. This event was also an opportunity for Quatorze to reflect on the actions carried out in the field so far. The team created an exhibition on the walls of one of the facilities to showcase this work, inviting visitors to discover each project co-built with the inhabitants.
Intercultural Workshop “ArchiDanse”
In September 2019, Quatorze organised a ten-day ArchiDanse workshop in partnership with the Berlin-based association Zukunst with the support of the Office Franco Allemand pour la Jeunnesse (OFAJ). The event took place at the heart of the shantytown and brought together twelve young creatives, both German and French. They assisted in building facilities on the plot and choreographed a dance that was performed during the Fête du Pôle Solidaire in front of the whole neighbourhood. The performance was conceived as a stroll throughout the plot and enabled almost thirty local inhabitants to discover the space in an original way for the first time.
