With the audience

The Parallèle Festival also encompasses a range of artistic and cultural initiatives aimed at audiences, designed to actively engage them in contemporary creation. These initiatives are always developed in close partnership with organisations working in education, the social sector, mutual aid and solidarity. Because contemporary forms explore new sensitive and poetic languages through which to speak about today’s world, we affirm that they concern everyone.

This year, Parallèle therefore offers:

— An immersion programme within the Festival for art students, in partnership with Beaux-Arts–INSEAMM. We are developing a festival immersion programme enabling students to experience a wide part of the programme, meet participating artists and develop their critical perspective. They will be accompanied by Pauline Brun, educational supervisor at Beaux-Arts–INSEAMM. The programme includes performances, dedicated meetings with artists and with the Festival Director, guided tours of La Relève exhibitions, and collective discussion sessions between students and teachers to foster critical analysis of the works encountered;

— Partnerships with mutual aid and solidarity organisations, such as Un Autre Monde and Culture du Cœur, through a quota of complimentary tickets for their beneficiaries, tailored support (performance introductions, venue visits, tours of La Relève exhibitions, etc.), and visibility spaces for presenting their respective initiatives;

— Artistic practice workshops for children and adults, professionals and non-professionals alike;

— Post-performance discussions between artists and audiences;

— Professional meetings bringing together artists and programmers from Marseille, across France and throughout Europe;

— A new partnership with Pacte-AMU, as part of its Carnet Culture programme;

— New to this edition, Parallèle has designed a dedicated space for encounters and discussion, conceived as the Festival HQ. It will offer artists, audiences and professionals a place to pause and exchange around the performances, take part in a reading workshop or join a round-table discussion.

The Parallèle Professionalization Cycle

Professional Development Cycle for the Sustainability of the Cultural Sector
Young Choreographers from the South, La Relève, Future Directions of Cultural Structures Dedicated to Emerging Artists

Launched in autumn 2024, the Professional Development Cycle for the Sustainability of the Cultural Sector seeks to respond proactively to the challenges and difficulties facing the artistic ecosystem. Its aim is to curb the precarisation of emerging artists, ensure generational renewal, and promote mutualisation and solidarity among artists, as well as between artists and cultural professionals. The programme encourages cross-disciplinary approaches, develops Mediterranean networks, and supports the autonomy of artists and art workers in carrying out their projects.

This cycle is intended for young choreographers, artists graduating from art schools, and future leaders of cultural organisations.

— Five choreographers (Anat Bosak, Aïda Jamal, Yu-Hsuan Chiu, Amit Noy and Luara Raio) benefited in 2024–2025 from professional development workshops, residencies, artistic mentorships and co-productions. They present their work during this edition of the Parallèle Festival.

— Sixteen visual artists were selected to present their work in the La Relève 8 exhibitions. They received support for adapting an existing work or creating a site-specific piece within partner venues, took part in a professional development workshop, and benefited from facilitated access to the Festival.

— The three recipients of the Futures directions programme (Flora Fettah, Assia Ugobor and Lamia Zanna) benefited from professional development workshops and meetings with the cultural ecosystem. In this context, they conceived this edition of La Relève and the Parallèle Festival in collaboration with the direction and teams of Parallèle.