Social field

Our cultural actions respond to a mission of universal public interest. To implement these projects, we have been working with local associations and social centres for many years.

On aura tout © Christophe Raynaud de Lage

How do we work?

The Festival d'Avignon places itself as a resource for remote audiences by opening its doors to them and inviting them to the heart of its artistic project. It integrates the inhabitants of disadvantaged neighbourhoods, by deploying additional means and an approach adapted to each audience.

The collaborations and partnerships are diverse, with common objectives:

  • Access to works, discovery of live performances, heritage and culture.

  • The appropriation of one's environment through experimentation and artistic practice.

  • Emancipation through learning to maintain a critical distance.

  • To understand the world around us and the relationship with others in a sensitive way.

  • Successfully diversifying the Festival's audiences and familiarising them with La FabricA of the Avignon Festival.

  • To encourage the employment of young people.

  • To create a collective through shared knowledge.

The actions are articulated around 5 axes:

  • Being or becoming a spectator: A specific ticketing service, support in discovering and attending shows.

  • Being or becoming an actor: Practice, creating content around shows and becoming a citizen.

  • Discover the backstage: Young culture reporters project, A la jeunesse les micros, visits to the Festival venues, meetings with artists and debates.

  • Training: Young culture reporters project, A la jeunesse les micros, web radio, workshops to discover technical professions.

  • Working at the Festival: internships for 3rd year students, seasonal jobs.

To reduce the barriers to access to culture, most workshops are offered free of charge and attendance at shows is facilitated by subsidised ticketing. Although each partner enriches and refines its project according to its audience, the Festival offers several types of actions that can constitute a journey:

  • Guided tours

  • Practical workshops

  • Meetings

  • A solidarity ticketing service

Projects with Avenir 84

Avenir 84 (regional digital space) is an association located in the heart of the La Trillade district. Its aim is to provide digital training for residents. The "Festival for all and for all" operation has enabled the creation and development of a culture and a collective memory of the Festival among the inhabitants of Avignon, particularly the inhabitants of the priority peripheral districts of the city policy.

The interest of the project lies in the dynamic partnership between a major player in culture and the performing arts, the Festival d'Avignon, and local players who work daily with the populations of the neighbourhoods or with vulnerable groups.

Since 2014, Avenir 84 has extended its photo or video reportage project during the Festival on a theme or a show. The Other in 2015, L'Amour des possibles in 2016, Micro-Folie in 2017. It trains between 6 and 8 people each year, to join the seasonal employees of the Festival d'Avignon, as receptionists, guards or ticket agents. In 2018, Avenir 84 has chosen to follow the 13 episodes of the theatrical serial in the Ceccano garden Mesdames, Messieurs et le reste du monde as part of its digital project.

Making Waves Avignon

The Festival d'Avignon joins Making Waves to offer young people from all over France the opportunity to discover the environment of the performing arts and to be trained in radio and interview techniques. A radio studio is set up at the Avignon Festival and these young people, trained by professionals, host and produce programmes. The aim is for this radio station to be a place of encounter, transmission and diversity so that these young people can talk to artists, creators and thinkers together, using their own words, their own sensibilities, their own questions and their own utopias. The young people take part in the project via workcamps and are paid in the summer. In Avignon, young people on civic service with the AFEV (Association de la Fondation Étudiante pour la Ville) will take part in the project.

Between February and June, the group will be trained in radio practice with the Making Waves team, as well as in the discovery of the Avignon Festival with the public relations team.

Several events are organised during the year:

  • Meetings and training courses from 2 to 5 consecutive days with Making Waves.

  • Voice and body workshops with artists.

  • Visits to emblematic Festival sites with the Festival d'Avignon team.

To conclude the project, during the Festival, the group will produce radio programmes in the Café des idées at the Cloître Saint-Louis, the heart of the Festival.

Find all the broadcasts here.

2022 : The AFEV organised a cultural course for 13 teenagers as part of the City of Avignon's Quartier d'été scheme. It took place in three parts:

  • A visit for young people to discover the Festival.

  • Access to the young audience show Le Soldat et la Ballerine by Robert Sandoz

  • The discovery of the backstage of La FabricA of the Festival d'Avignon in the autumn.

2023: 10 young people in civic service at AFEV will be trained in radio practice between February and June with the Making Waves team, as well as in the discovery of the Avignon Festival with the Festival's public relations team.

Read more about À la jeunesse les micros project

2022: 23 people were invited to discover the backstage of the Cour d'honneur of the Palais des papes as well as to two dress rehearsals during the Festival. To conclude their journey, in autumn they attended the young audience show Le Soldat et la Ballerine by Robert Sandoz at the FabricA of the Avignon Festival.

2018: 30 people attended the dress rehearsals of several shows of the 73rd edition.

2022: The association invited 13 children to discover live performance around Das Plateau's Little Red Riding Hood. They worked on the practice of field recording with the help of VOLT Par l'Image et le Son to carry out an activity of the Guide du jeune sectateur. They also took part in the art workshop around the same show during the Festival.

2021: The Festival proposed to the children accompanied by the association to follow an itinerary including a visit to La FabricA of the Avignon Festival, a participation in several workshops of the Guide du jeune spectateur and to attend two shows: Bouger les lignes by Bérangère Vantusso and Autophagies by Eva Doumbia.

Read more about Young spectator guide

2022: The association for the fight against school failure invited 10 children to take part in the art workshop of the Young Spectator's Guide as well as to discover the Festival by attending the young audience show Le Soldat et la ballerine by Robert Sandoz.

Read more about Young spectator guide

2019: In addition to discovering the Festival, 15 children attended the young audience show Snow White, Story of a Prince by Marie Dilasser directed by Michel Raskine, at the Chapelle des Pénitents Blancs.

2018: In addition to discovering the Festival, 15 children attended the young audience show Léonie et Noélie by Nathalie Papin directed by Karelle Prugnaud at the Chapelle des Pénitents Blancs and visited the Micro-Folie in winter 2017.

As part of its policy of accessibility to culture for all audiences, the Festival d'Avignon has been developing a partnership with the Avignon-Le Pontet penitentiary centre since 2004. Each year, a show is proposed inside the centre and one or two days of discovery of the Festival d'Avignon are organised.

Read more about the projects of the Avignon-Le Pontet Penitenciary Centre

2022: The "classes départ" of France met in Avignon in July to discover the Festival. The association and the Festival organised a meeting with the artists of the show Via Injabulo. They were also invited to discover the technical professions at La FabricA and attended the restitution of the residency of the Protection judiciaire de la jeunesse Alpes-Vaucluse.

In 2020, the Festival d'Avignon and the socio-cultural complex of La Barbière have strengthened their collaboration around 3 axes:

  • Being and becoming a theatre-goer,

  • co-hosting a Festival show and an artistic team,

  • training and increasing skills in cultural support.

2022:

  • A course was offered to young people in the teen club including a slam workshop, a guided tour on the history of the Avignon Festival and access to a show in July.

  • Shows at subsidised rates were offered to members of the Café culturel

  • Two performances of an episode of the theatrical series on school bullying, Devoirs Surveillés by Eva Doumbia, in the multi-purpose hall at La Barbière

2021: 20 people were invited to attend Eva Doumbia's play, Autophagies.

2018: 22 women were invited to attend Olivier Py's play, Pur présent.

2022: 23 people visited the Cour d'honneur of the Palais des papes and the exhibition L'œil présent by Christophe Raynaud de Lage at the Maison Jean Vilar. With Avenir 84, a digital workshop was set up.

2022: The Festival invited 30 inhabitants of Les Olivades to attend the dress rehearsal of Amir Reza Koohestani's show En Transit. Two guided tours of the Cour d'honneur of the Palais des Papes were also organised.

2020, 2021, 2022: Several young people from the local Mission took part in the "J’y suis, j’en suis" project and in the Young Culture Reporters WebTV. The Festival participates in accompanying these young people towards employment with the recommended jobs scheme.

Since 2021, the Protection Judiciaire de la Jeunesse Alpes-Vaucluse and the Festival d'Avignon invite young people to design an artistic object during a week of residence at La FabricA of the Festival d'Avignon.

More about the project of the Youth Judicial Protection

2022: Teenagers from ADVESA (L'association Départementale de Vaucluse pour la sauvegarde de l'Enfance à l'Adulte) participated in the web-radio project in partnership with RFI. They also invited young people to attend the young audience programme Le Soldat et la Ballerine by Robert Sandoz at the FabricA of the Festival d'Avignon.

Read more about web-radio project

ALSH Centre d'Orel, Association Passerelle,  Association Welcome,  CCAS Avignon,  Centre social et Culturel Espelido,  Collège Anselme Mathieu, Collège Champfleury, Collège Frédéric Mistral, Collège Jean Brunet, Collège Jules Verne,Collège Mistral, Collège Roumanille, Ecole de la deuxième chance, Ecole Grand Cyprès, Ecole JH Fabre A et B, Ecole La Trillade, Ecole Les Olivades, Ecole Les Rotondes, Ecole Louis Gros, Ecole Olivades, Ecole Sainte-Catherine, Ecole Saint-Jean, Ecole Saint-Roch, Ecole Scheppler, Ecole Trillade, Femmes Solidaires, Garantie jeune, Graver dans l'art, Samu social, Lycée Philippe de Girard, Lycée Professionnel Maria Casarès, Compagnie On jour aussi de l'autre côté (OJAAC)Nadjette Brailleur, Planning Familial 84, Programme de réussite éducative,  Secours Catholique, Secours populaire 

A look back at our past partnerships

2021: Meeting between the Festival and the Tipi, neighbour of the FabricA of the Avignon Festival, to work on a link between the two actors of the territory.

2018, 2019: The association Vivre Ensemble à Avignon ouest enabled classes from seven Avignon schools to attend a gala performance by student dancers from the Avignon Conservatory.

2019: The association proposed to a group of 15 young people to participate in several events:

  • Thought workshop Weekend for a Republic of Hospitality

  • Access to the dress rehearsal of Olivier Py's show L'Amour Vainqueur

  • Participation of two of them in the theatrical serial L'Odyssée by Blandine Savetier

For many years, due to a geographical proximity with La FabricA of the Avignon Festival, but also to a common desire to collaborate, the teams and beneficiaries have been associated with artistic projects or with the organisation of the Festival.

  • Setting up of spectator courses, for adults and children, co-animated by the animators and the Festival team with subsidised tickets for lower prices,

  • extra in shows such as I AM by Lemi Ponifasio at the Cour d'honneur in 2014,

  • acting in shows such as Paroles de Gonz', by Nadjette Bougahlem, at the Maison Jean Vilar in 2018,

  • creation of welcome pots for the Rencontres at La FabricA, since 2013,

  • seasonal employment at the Festival of 3 beneficiaries of the social centre.

2019: A public performance was organised on 10 July following a writing workshop with women in literacy classes.

2018: 32 young people followed a rich and diverse course:

  • Participation in the All Minorities episode of the soap opera Mesdames, Messieurs et le reste du monde at Ceccano by David Bobée on 9 July.

  • Visit to the Cours d'honeur du Palais des Papes.

  • Visit of the exhibition L'Érrante Peintures by Claire Tabouret at the Célestins Church

  • Show Au-delà de la forêt, le monde of Inês Barahona et Miguel Fragata and meeting with the artistic team.

  • Screening of Gérard Philipe, un homme, pas un ange, documentary ,2003, Nef des images at the Eglise des célestins

  • Show Léonie et Noélie by Nathalie Papin directed by Karelle Prugnaud and meeting with the artistic team.

  • Meeting with Rebecca Chaillon as part of the Territoire cinématographique Ouvrir la voix at Cinéma Utopia Manutention

  • Shows Ben & Luc / Ode to the Attempt by Mickaël Phelippeau and Jan Martens - CDCN Les Hivernales.

2017 : More about the project

2021: The Festival invited the association's beneficiaries and volunteers to the dress rehearsals of Tiago Rodrigues' La Cerisaie at the Cour d'honneur of the Popes' Palace.and Eva Doumbia's Autophagies.

2021: 8 women attended Marcos Morau's Sonoma show in the Cour d'honneur of the Popes' Palace.