IN SEARCH OF SOCIAL VALUE AKA: ASK FOR APOLLINAIRE

At ODAC, our focus on artistic exploration regularly leads us to seek out and learn from arts organisations in diverse contexts. A recent journey to La Friche la Belle de Mai in Marseille, France, as detailed by our Regent's Park Estate Story Trail Producer, Sarah Nicholl, is an example of this pursuit. This trip was more than just an excursion; it was part of ODAC's ongoing effort to draw inspiration from innovative cultural practices around the world.

Joining representatives from Camden Council’s Euston Regeneration team and specialists from UAL/Central Saint Martins, Sarah and ODAC’s Creative Director, Daniel Pitt, immersed themselves in the vibrant environment of La Friche, a unique cultural centre in a repurposed tobacco factory. This experience was not only a learning expedition but also an opportunity to find parallels with our initiatives in Camden, particularly in the evolving landscape of Regent’s Park Estate. La Friche is a partner on EU-funded ‘meanwhile use’ research project T-Factor, alongside Camden and CSM as UK partners.

In this article, Sarah Nicholl shares her insights from the visit. These reflections highlight the transformative role of the arts and our dedication to fostering community engagement and collaborative creativity at ODAC.

A few hours before returning to London we are sitting in a sun-drenched garden enjoying the last few morsels and moments of our visit to la Friche la Belle de Mai in France.  ‘La Friche’ is a multi-faceted urban, public space and cultural centre located in an enormous former tobacco factory in Marseille. Originally conceived of as a temporary space to house and incubate a variety of DIY arts-based projects, some thirty years later this space is not only flourishing it now acts as a hub space and home to over 70 organisations and 400 artists from across the city.     

Alongside representatives from Camden Council’s Euston Regeneration team, Researchers, designers, artists, architects and academics from UAL/Central Saint Martins, Daniel and I, representing ODAC, have been invited to attend a pilot learning visit and symposium to facilitate conversations and knowledge exchanges around the theme of the social value of cultural projects in urban meanwhile spaces.  

As a group we are keen to relate our experiences in Camden to those of La Friche - to find connections between our work and inspiration for continued and future collaborations and projects. The current turbulent and transitional nature of many of the spaces around and within the west Euston area due to the ongoing Euston/HS2 works, notably within Regent’s Park Estate, has informed and shaped much of ODAC’s recent engagement with the local community. In particular, this shifting local landscape and its consequential turmoil have provided the underpinning, framing and context for the unfolding Story Trail within a large, urban area.

Amidst the incredibly rich and inspiring conversations and exchanges during our visit, one of the most resonant is a conversation with La Friche’s resident Social Worker and mediator, Apollinaire. His work with young people at risk, many with complex issues including histories of violence, trafficking and prostitution, as well as many in community service programmes is incredibly insightful and inspiring. 

Through the commitment and consistency of his presence - of being present at the same time and in the same place (a space outside La Friche), day in day out, Apollinaire has enabled conversations around prevention and been able to facilitate, support and offer an alternative route map via the arts to many young people who are currently falling out of and being failed by the system. His approach is one of treating all problems individually. And through a quality of deep listening and relationship building, and an understanding and knowing that this steady and unwavering consistency forges trust and creates connection. 

Collaboration and relationship-building are central themes across our organisations. There are parallels too between many of ODAC’s programmes which enable and nurture young people and adults across the Euston area. And there are the unique collaborations and the remarkable projects of the Community Champions and the Community Guardians shared with partner organisations, FYA and Camden’s detached Youth Work Team who do incredible work to support and empower young people and adults in Camden that have so much in common with our new friends in France.

The gentle, careful and continuous relationships Apollinaire builds daily with young people nurture not only their trust but also the possibility of transformation. It is an evocative example of creating social, (or perhaps) cultural value in action - that is, the value that people experience as a result of changes in their lives - non-monetary and irreducibly collective - and happens by paying attention to relationships on the small and human scale. 

Threads of connection also resonate between the radical artistic roots of La Friche and those of ODAC. The spirit of risk-taking and of experimentation is a vivid parallel with ODAC’s beginnings and its continuing missions as an arts creation centre nurturing creative ecosystems, both near and further afield.  By providing dedicated spaces within our organisations the community can take ownership of how they inhabit, shape and utilise these spaces.

And in contrast to many public spaces, in particular the growing ground swell of privatised public spaces in cities and towns worldwide, La Friche embodies a truly public space where young people are actively encouraged and welcomed. As a result, friends tell their friends, their brothers and their sisters about their experiences at La Friche, ensuring an ongoing route for young people from the local neighbourhoods.

Arriving for the first time at this labyrinthine space, many young people, perhaps intrepid and uncertain of their reception are told to: ‘Ask for Apollinaire’ - the discreet code word for access and accessibility, for knowing that they are welcome, that they are valued and they are safe. 

With thanks to all our colleagues and partners on this learning journey. This trip has been convened by T-Factor, an EU-funded project seeking to unlock the transformative potential of temporary use in urban regeneration, in six cities across Europe, including London.  

Thank you to Sarah for taking the time to write about the trip.

For more information about the Storytrail project here: odac.uk/stories