Utopia

Lille was European Capital of Culture in 2004. Since then, a new cultural season brings us together every three years. In 2022, we are inviting you to help us write a new chapter in the cultural life of Lille, its metropolitan area and region: Utopia.

Proposed by lille3000 and taking place between 14 May and 2 October 2022, Utopia is dedicated to Nature and Man’s relationship with his environment.

It has been designed in accordance with our region’s long-standing and active commitment to combating climate change, using concrete actions and working as closely as possible with local citizens, in all areas, including culture. Several of Lille’s cultural stakeholders have already made excellent progress in meeting sustainability challenges. In 2021, Lille Opera became France’s first opera house to obtain the ISO 20121 certification for its sustainable development and inclusion policy. The Palais des Beaux-Arts held the first major 100% eco-responsible exhibition, called Expérience Goya. The Ville de Lille has worked with associations to design an eco-events guide which supports concrete solutions for reducing the ecological footprint of festivals. We will be making the most of Utopia to step up these excellent examples of sustainability in the cultural sector, with the aim of making them or widespread.

Our ambition is to raise awareness through art. In response to the ecological emergency, artists are increasingly committed to these issues. Many of them use their art to encourage reflection, as well as inciting us to participate actively, individually and collectively in safeguarding natural resources, including the fauna and flora. We look forward to welcoming you to our museums, public spaces, parks and gardens, nature areas and theatres to discover their vision of a more sustainable and responsible world. 

Utopia is peppered with events, original encounters, new experiences and productions, at the meeting point between art and science. It aims to raise awareness about the complexity of the world and its poetic force, going beyond the catastrophic (though nonetheless authentic) visions of climate change. The programme features exhibitions, urban transformations, participatory projects and conferences, as well as something new for the 2022 event: the “Caps” trails, a series of walking tours designed to enable the public to discover artworks in some of the lesser-known areas of Lille and the region.

All our cultural associations and institutions, as well as a huge number of artists, volunteers and residents of Lille, the metropolitan area and the wider region, have taken an active role in preparing for this cultural event.