The Eventualization of Culture

This research project aims to explore in greater depth the territorial dimension of the cultural, economic, tourism-related, political, and social dynamics generated by festivals, building on CEPEL’s previous work on the social and territorial ecology of festivals and its ongoing research on festival demographics and development.

More broadly, the aim will be to examine the phenomena of the “festivalization” of culture and the “eventization” of local public cultural initiatives. Indeed, festivals can be understood as an original response from the cultural sector (civil society and political actors, cultural institutions, etc.) to the phenomena of globalization and the fragmentation of cultural identities, as well as to calls for a return to the local level. In France, these calls were significantly reinforced by the NotRe Law of August 7, 2015—which makes culture a shared responsibility among different levels of local government—as well as by the LCAP Law (Freedom of Creation, Architecture, and Heritage) of July 7, 2016—which encourages these local authorities to cooperate with one another on cultural issues.architecture, and heritage) of July 7, 2016—which encourages these local authorities to cooperate with one another on cultural issues.

Project leaders: Aurélien Djakouane, Emmanuel Négrier, Stéphane Coursière, Julien Audemard. Budget: €39,915