In 2021, the Haute-Marne town hall displayed paintings by famous painters on giant advertising panels in the streets of the town. An initiative welcomed and relayed at the national level by the “French Federation of Things That Work”.
Published
Update
Reading time :
1 minute
:quality(50)/2023/10/11/saint-dizier-652707cfa6ca9900153676.jpg)
The initiative of the commune of Saint-Dizier (Haute-Marne) called “Beauty will save the world” to make art accessible to all was identified as the first “thing that works” by the FFTM (French federation of things that work) and will be duplicated in other cities in France. The announcement will be made on Thursday October 12 by the mayor of Saint-Dizier, on the occasion of a national day dedicated to culture (La Journe Culte!), reveals France Bleu.
In April 2021, in the midst of the Covid pandemic, since museums were closed and culture was inaccessible, the town of Saint-Dizier decided to exhibit works in public spaces to make them accessible to all. The city then replaced, a few weeks a year, advertisements with images of works of art (Van Gogh, Botticelli, Klimt, etc.) on advertising and municipal billboards. The initiative was titled “Beauty will save the world”.
A website and a “starter kit” for new municipalities
In November 2022, this good idea was the first to be hailed and relayed at the national level as a “thing that works” by the French Federation of Things That Work (FFTM), during season 1 at the Théâtre de la Madeleine in Paris. Several cities have decided to take up this initiative on their territory: Talmont-Saint-Hilaire (Vendée) will be the first city to set up the operation from November 2023. Saint-Raphaël (Var), Bourges (Cher), Neuvy- sur-Barangeon (Cher), Bourg-en-Bresse (Ain), Lamontjoie (Lot-et-Garonne) or even Salbris (Loir-et-cher), in 2024.
To help them develop this “thing that works”, the cities will have at their disposal a website and a “starter kit”: display campaign of works provided by Rmn-Grand Palais (Réunion des musées nationaux-Grand-Palais ) in schools, tarpaulins on public equipment, scaffolding, or even helps negotiate with developers for the covering of buildings under construction or renovation.
The winners for season 2 of “things that work” will be revealed on November 21 at the Théâtre de la Madeleine in Paris.