Keynote

Beatriz Garcia, Associate Director – Centre for Cultural Value

Dr Beatriz Garcia is an expert in international cultural policy and mega-events.

She is Associate Director at the Centre for Cultural Value, member of the Culture & Olympic Heritage Commission – International Olympic Committee and former member of the European Capital of Culture (ECoC) Selection Panel. Beatriz has been at the forefront of research on the rhetoric, impact and long-term legacy of culture-led regeneration interventions since 1999, researching the medium to long-term legacy of every European Capital of Culture since their launch in 1985 and conducting fieldwork in every summer and winter Olympic Games edition since 2000.

She directed and is the author of Impacts 08: ECoC Research Programme, the 30-year assessment of ECoC Success Factors & long-term Effects (European Parliament), and the International framework of good practice in research and delivery of ECoCs (European Commission). She is currently leading an international pilot study to test the capacity for ECoC bids and broader city cultural strategies to respond to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Speakers

Sylvie Bétard, Circular Economy Consultant for Sustainability Transition & Co-Founder – Les Augures

Sylvie Bétard holds degrees in photography, contemporary art theory, and cultural management. Since 2003, she has been a pioneer in exploring the relationship between art and ecology. Her work includes research in contemporary art theory, supporting artists in their creative processes, and developing concrete projects.

In 2008, she co-founded La Réserve des Arts, a cultural resource center. Then, in 2012, she created Upcyclerie, a creative agency focused on repurposing industrial waste for recycling and internal reuse, utilizing design and expertise in the field.

In 2020, Sylvie co-founded the collective Les Augures alongside Laurence Perrillat, Camille Pène, and Marguerite Courtel. Their goal is to assist the cultural sector in its ecological transition and enhance its adaptability. By 2022, she became co-director of Augures Lab Scénogrrrraphie, a national professional network dedicated to collaborative and innovative approaches to ecoscenography in the cultural sector.

 

Sylvie Bétard

Jean-Michel Deleuil, University Professor in Georgraphy, Urban Studies and Planning – INSA Lyon

Jean-Michel Deleuil is a professor at the National Institute of Applied Sciences in Lyon, where he is in charge of urban planning training.

He has long been engaged in international work, participating in numerous French and European projects aimed at developing academic exchanges worldwide in the fields of urban planning and urban policies. His work has spanned countries such as Vietnam, Cameroon, Lebanon, Romania, and Ukraine.

Since completing his thesis on Lyon by Night, published in 1994, his research has focused on urban techniques from the perspective of human and social sciences. This includes studies on urban lighting, the production of nocturnal landscapes, and public policies related to the night.

He has been observing Lyon’s night since the 1980s, having accompanied the implementation of the three Lyon lighting master plans. He also contributed to the creation of the Fête des Lumières in 1999 and has been a member of the LUCI network since 2003.

Jean-Michel Deleuil

Emmanuelle Gallot-Delamézière, Urban Planner – Aire Publique

Emmanuelle Gallot-Delamézière holds a PhD in Urban Planning, Geography, and Development. She leads the consulting and communication agency Aire Publique (Groupe Scet).

She supports local authorities in missions where she facilitates public action in the areas of strategic counseling and territorial dialogue.

In this role, she leverages her expertise in collective intelligence, shared governance, and the implementation of constructive cooperative dynamics.

Emanuelle Gallot-Delamezière

Simona Mattia, Sociologist – Kaléido’Scop

Simona Mattia is a sociologist working within the Kaléido’Scop cooperative. She supports local authorities, professionals, and collectives in the development of projects with social utility.

She has extensive experience in managing projects and conducting qualitative studies on public cultural action, both in France and across Europe.

In her work, she has focused particularly on how socio-cultural diversities are integrated into the design of social and cultural policies, as well as on the uses of cultural diversity and the adoption of the concept of cultural rights by actors in the social and cultural fields.

Simona Mattia

Moderator

Jessica Férey

Jessica Férey, Deputy Director – LUCI Association

Jessica is French/American with a multidisciplinary background that includes arts management, art history, and theatre directing. She is a passionate arts-lover with particular commitments to innovative connections between people and culture and public space.

As Deputy Director of LUCI she is in charge of network stewardship and development as well as events strategy. She is the project manager for the Creative Europe LAiPS project (Light & Art in Public Spaces) and oversees LUCI’s activities under the Art & Culture pillar, including the Light Festival Working Group and all things relating to creative lighting.

Previously, she was Deputy Director of the Global Cultural Districts Network and prior to that worked at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. She received a Master’s in Arts Management at American University in Washington DC, where her research focused on gender equity in arts leadership.

Pecha Kuchas

Darkitects, Lighting Designers

Darkitects is an artistic collective of 5 lighting designers who experiment light and materials. Several skills like scenography, engineering, spatial and interior architecture are mixed to create oneiric installations.

The lighting designers composing Darkitects are: Mélissa Dupart, Paulie Gabinaud, Christelle Sfeir, Joseph Frey and Marion Noel.

Check out the Pecha Kucha projects page here.

Darkitects

Marjut Kauppinen, Public Lighting Manager – City of Helsinki

Marjut Kauppinen has worked as Public Lighting Manager of City of Helsinki, Finland since January 2022. She is architect who has a background both in private sector and in public services.

Outdoor lighting – lighting design in general – became her passion in mid 90’s when she got an opportunity to work as lighting architect aiming to the huge amount of works of light art of Cultural Capital Year 2000 of Helsinki. After this experience she decided to learn more about lighting design, lighting technology and urban lighting processes.

Today she develops urban lighting in Helsinki together with fellow architects, engineers, landscape architects and lighting designers.

Check out the Pecha Kucha projects page here.

Marjut Kauppinen

Josep Poblet, Designer – Estudi Josep Poblet

After studying economics and music, Josep Poblet began his career as a designer when he decided to leave his office job and return to working with his hands, as he had done in his youth.

Influenced by family trades – the land, machines, the workshop – he often draws the perception and meaning of his designs from these origins. From the outset he has also shown a particular interest in light: its materiality and capacity for movement, contrast, and the definition of space and void, among other things.

He currently combines teaching in design schools and collaborating with other studios with the activities of his own studio, which he started in Barcelona and moved to Vila-seca, his hometown, in 2022.

Check out the Pecha Kucha projects page here.

Josep Poblet Ventura

Cecilia Ömalm, Artist

Cecilia Ömalm (b. 1974 in Umeå) lives and works in Stockholm, Sweden. After studying in Gotlands Läns Folkhögskola, she studied at the International Center for Photography in New York, USA, at the end of the 1990s.

Having had a long career, her artistry includes light, sculpture and photography, with works relating to the spatiality of the now and the history of the past.

Check out the Pecha Kucha projects page here.

Cecilia Ömalm

Philipp Frank, Artist

Philipp Frank is a visionary Land-Light-Artist and Photographer from Germany. With a blend of Nature, Technology, and Heart, Philipp creates immersive spaces and captivating images that transcend the ordinary.

Born in the late ’70s and raised in Munich, Germany, and Paris, France, Philipp Frank embarked on his creative journey in the early ’90s through the captivating world of graffiti art. The need to document his ephemeral works blossomed into a profound passion for photography and filmmaking. With a Master’s degree in Communication Design and over 15 years of experience as an Art Director and Illustrator in the Creative Industry, Philipp honed his skills and artistic vision.

Today, Philipp’s artistic pursuits transcend conventional boundaries as he delves into the realms of fine art. Through his evocative works, he explores the interconnectedness of nature, geometry, and the multiverse, inviting viewers on a transformative journey of introspection and discovery.

Check out the Pecha Kucha projects page here.

Philipp Frank

Ilenia Borrello, Project Manager – Mons en Lumières

Ilenia Borrello holds a degree in civil engineering in architecture and began her career as a project manager on construction sites, gaining extensive experience in project execution. She later pursued a complementary master’s degree in event management, aligning her professional skills with her passion for creating meaningful experiences.

Joining the city of Mons in 2021, she worked on integrating new technologies into museums. Since September 2022, Ilenia has been dedicated to Mons en Lumières, co-creating the festival from the ground up.

Her role combines her love for architecture, heritage, art, events, project management, and community engagement, making her work both impactful and deeply fulfilling.

Check out the Pecha Kucha projects page here.

Ilenia Borrello

Émilie Chabot, Director of Strategic Development and Programming – Partenariat du Quartier des spectacles

Accumulating more than 20 years of experience in the sectors of culture, innovation and social inclusion, Émilie Chabot has been applying her expertise, since May 2021, to the Quartier des Spectacles Partnership, a non-profit organization in Montreal, operating on an area representing 1 km² and hosting more than 8 public spaces over four seasons.

Director of the strategic development and programming team, she is in charge of financial partnerships, project development as well as the implementation of artistic proposals in public spaces (musical performances, exhibitions, installations, layout and video projections). She also manages the Partnership’s strategic planning processes and mobilizes stakeholders in addition to the thirty or so festivals hosted each year in the District.

On a daily basis, Émilie ensures to pursue the important mission of cultural development of the territory while keeping an eye on opportunities for urban, tourist, social and economic growth.

Check out the Pecha Kucha projects page here.

Emilie Chabot ©Marie Deschene - Carré

Pierre-Yves Toulot, Co-founder – IntensCity

Pierre-Yves Toulot‘s motto is to go further than is possible, the easy way bores him. His aim is to surprise audiences with his audiovisual, lighting and architectural creations. It’s a taste for surpassing oneself that he expressed as early as his studies at ENSATT, which paved the way for an artistic and technical career in lighting design for live performance.

A few years later, he developed his craft in the art of architectural and monumental projection, where he has become a benchmark. In 2003, Pierre-Yves created the creative studio Cosmo AV, and in 2019, IntensCity, a project that is revolutionising the night-time enhancement of heritage through digital lighting.

Check out the Pecha Kucha projects page here.

Pierre-Yves Toulot - Intenscity