Villeurbanne, French capital of culture 2022

Nine French cities were competing for this new title, and the Ministry of Culture chose the city of Villeurbanne to become the first French capital of culture in 2022. This title will be awarded every other year to a middle-size city standing out for its support to creation, the valuation of its heritage, and its artistic and cultural transmission.

A national jury appointed by the minister of Culture, auditioned nine preselected cities and groups of cities to award the first edition of the Capitale française de la culture label (French capital of culture), a project inspired by the European capitals of culture, a project enjoying a true popular success since its launch in 1985.

Culture as the pillar of a strategy for the future

Nine French cities from the continent and overseas were selected beforehand among about 30 applying cities. All cities registered 20,000 to 200,000 inhabitants and presented a cultural project promoting the richness and diversity of their territory.

This is the case for the nine applicant cities: the Greater Angouleme Urban Community, the cities of Brest, Laval, Le Mans, Metz, Saint-Paul de la Réunion, Sète, the Val Briard Community of Municipalities and the city of Villeurbanne, the final winner. All of these cities and/or communities have “ambitious projects” that allow them to “project themselves into the future by placing the arts and culture at the heart of their strategies”.

Nine French cities were competing for this new title, and the Ministry of Culture chose the city of Villeurbanne to become the first French capital of culture in 2022. This title will be awarded every other year to a middle-size city standing out for its support to creation, the valuation of its heritage, and its artistic and cultural transmission.

A national jury appointed by the minister of Culture, auditioned nine preselected cities and groups of cities to award the first edition of the Capitale française de la culture label (French capital of culture), a project inspired by the European capitals of culture, a project enjoying a true popular success since its launch in 1985.

Clear and consistent criteria

In detail, the rules laid down by the Ministry of Culture said that the projects presented by applicant cities had to present “a clear and consistent cultural vision and strategy” assessed by the national jury.

This strategy had to meet about ten criteria, such as the innovative nature of the project, artistic and cultural transmission, participation of the inhabitants in the project, influence and international cooperation, accessibility for the disabled, territorial solidarity, capacity for implementation and long-term inclusion, but also the development of tourism.

Villeurbanne: youth at the heart of the cultural project

The Minister of Culture welcomed the jury’s choice of Villeurbanne, a city close to Lyon, which likes to define itself as “the first of the second cities in France”. It is a “young and growing city, rich in industrial history”, and has the added advantage of having “chosen youth as the strength and target of its urban cultural project”.

The city of Villeurbanne intends to “renew its tradition of popular education and innovate in its artistic and cultural education actions”. To achieve this, the Minister emphasised, “it intends to rely on its little-known heritage, its associative strengths as well as on the major cultural institutions and university resources present in its area”.

A label as a driver for recovery

Awarding this label also results in a funding of local authorities involved in the project, but also an exceptional 1 million euros prize cofinanced by the Ministry of Culture and the Caisse des Dépôts for this first edition. In the current context of health and economic crises, financers think that culture as a job-creating industry, can become “a driver of recovery”.

The ministry of culture thus says that “cultural economy fuels many other industries such as tourism, hotels and restaurants, which are most impacted by the health crisis”. So the French capital of culture label can contribute to “a territorial recovery of this economy”.

To know more: 

- The nomination of Villeurbanne

- The French capitals of culture project

Photo credit: © Gerald Villena - stock.adobe.com