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The residency is part of the urban transformation initiative in the Cité de l’Abreuvoir (a priority neighborhood under the city’s urban policy) and supports the redevelopment projects planned for the coming years. Through meetings and programs designed with two artists, Ilona Mikneviciute and Shuya Zhu, the aim is to invite residents to take part in a collective artistic initiative, conceived as a means of expression, dialogue, and celebration of the heritage envisioned by Émile Aillaud.
Based in a dedicated space at 100 rue Jules Vallès in Bobigny, provided by Seine-Saint-Denis Habitat, the initiative will transform this space into a creative workshop and meeting place. It will serve as a hub where residents will be invited to participate in artistic workshops and the design of a participatory installation.
Led by the Art en Partage association, in collaboration with Seine-Saint-Denis Habitat, the project brings together artists Ilona Mikneviciute and Shuya Zhu around a shared vision: to work with residents to imagine poetic and collective forms that reinvent the Abreuvoir garden city as a space for shared creation, knowledge transfer, and the meaningful transformation of the living environment.
Ilona Mikneviciute
An established visual artist, Ilona Mikneviciute has been exploring the relationship between humans, materials, and living things for over fifteen years. Specializing in metalwork, particularly stainless steel, she creates poetic, evolving structures that engage in a dialogue with nature, their surroundings, and the people who inhabit them. Her projects, often participatory, involve residents in the creation of collective installations, where art, gardening, and community come together to experiment with new forms of coexistence and sharing.
INSTAGRAM : @ilonamikneviciute
SITE : https://mikneviciute.com/
Arūnas Mozūraitis and Clara Giambino
A young visual artist and performer, Shuya Zhu explores the connections between humans and their environment through sculpture, performance, and installation. Originally from China and based in France for the past six years, she has developed a participatory practice where memory, nature, and collective action converge. Her projects invite residents to transform personal materials into collective creations, weaving shared narratives and creating spaces for meaningful exchange across generations and cultures.
INSTAGRAM : @shuya_art_
Oasis urbaine
Ilona Mikneviciute will develop “Urban Oasis,” an interdisciplinary project blending sculpture, gardening, and architecture, conceived as a collective, living work of art in the heart of the Abreuvoir neighborhood. Made of metal and Plexiglas, this oasis will take the form of an experimental greenhouse, providing a human-scale landmark within the large, tree-lined Abreuvoir Park: an intimate, welcoming, and evolving space where people can relax, garden, socialize, and dream.
Designed and built in collaboration with local residents, the greenhouse will take shape step by step through a series of participatory workshops and collective building sessions. Far from imposing a monument, this oasis will embody a light, community-driven architecture—a space for gathering, gardening, and socializing, inspired by the spirit of Aillaud’s garden cities. More than just an architectural object, it will be a living work of art, a place where we cultivate the earth, our connections, and our imagination, celebrating generosity and shared creation.
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The greenhouse’s design is based on a participatory approach. It is developed through a series of workshops focused on research, sketching, and model-building, conducted with local residents. These collaborative sessions allow the structure’s forms and principles to emerge collectively.
At the conclusion of these workshops, once the forms have been collectively chosen, the final decisions will be made based on the project’s feasibility and technical constraints.
Hamagique
Shuya Zhu will develop Hamagique, a participatory project centered on memory, rest, sharing, and community. Through group workshops and collaborative creation sessions, she will invite residents to design and create hammocks using personal fabrics, objects, or recycled materials, transforming them into works suspended in public spaces.
These forms, both intimate and collective, will become spaces for rest, dialogue, and daydreaming, bearing witness to the neighborhood’s stories and emotions. Her approach, rooted in listening and co-creation, aims to reveal the invisible connections between people and their environment, and to reinvent spaces of conviviality and poetry at the heart of the city.
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The fabric of the hammocks will serve as the project’s primary medium. Throughout the residency, a variety of short workshops will be offered to allow participants to discover and experiment with different artistic techniques, including plant-based dyeing, cyanotype, embroidery, and photographic transfers on fabric, among others.
MAP OF THE FESTIVAL VENUES
OUR PARTNERS
Micro-folie de Bobigny
La Coloc' de l'Ourcq, unterstützt vom FSGT 93-Komitee, ist ein solidarischer Coworking-Space am Ufer des Ourcq-Kanals, gegenüber dem Parc de la Bergère. Dieser einladende Ort steht allen offen und geht im Kontext des gesellschaftlichen Wandels auf individuelle und kollektive Bedürfnisse ein. Mit Sportangeboten, Unterstützung für Vereine und einem Begegnungsraum fördert La Coloc' soziale Bindungen und Solidarität. Das Projekt zielt darauf ab, durch Begegnung und Austausch einen Mehrwert für alle zu schaffen und gleichzeitig die lokale Dynamik in Bobigny zu stärken.
Après l'école
La Coloc' de l'Ourcq, unterstützt vom FSGT 93-Komitee, ist ein solidarischer Coworking-Space am Ufer des Ourcq-Kanals, gegenüber dem Parc de la Bergère. Dieser einladende Ort steht allen offen und geht im Kontext des gesellschaftlichen Wandels auf individuelle und kollektive Bedürfnisse ein. Mit Sportangeboten, Unterstützung für Vereine und einem Begegnungsraum fördert La Coloc' soziale Bindungen und Solidarität. Das Projekt zielt darauf ab, durch Begegnung und Austausch einen Mehrwert für alle zu schaffen und gleichzeitig die lokale Dynamik in Bobigny zu stärken.
With the support of:
Seine-Saint-Denis Habitat
The Wonder
Agence nationale de la cohésion des territoires
Est Ensemble