Facilitate access to culture for all
Developing innovative cultural spaces
At Groupe SOS, talking about culture means talking about connections, movement, journeys, stories and ideas. This guiding principle permeates our day-to-day activities: our venues, our support programmes, our media, cinema, heritage, cultural engineering, artistic production, integration, business acceleration… and our desire to pass on knowledge…
Le Troisième Pôle
Le Troisième Pôle is a cultural engineering and artistic production agency that assists public and private players in developing their cultural projects. The agency has a broad remit and is equally involved in performing arts, museums, heritage conservation, public reading, contemporary art, scientific culture and cultural industries. It works at the crossroads of other societal issues: urban planning, education, economic development, environmental transition, tourism, social innovation, etc.
Creatis
Creatis supports start-ups and young companies from the cultural and creative industries in Brussels and Paris. With the common good at heart, they guide and support projects that stimulate creativity, promote artistic expression, facilitate access to culture and promote the independence of the press.
Entrepreneurs, creators, artists, institutions, makers, non-profit organisations, journalists, researchers and the public all gather at rue de la Fontaine Au Roi (Paris) around a common goal: creating a strong network of innovative cultural businesses and new media.
Since its creation in 2012, more than 250 projects have been supported by Creatis.
Cinéma : Commune Image
Movies are a powerful tool to share emotions. They convey meaning and have a direct impact on everyone. A film can change someone’s life. That is why, from the initial idea right through to the premiere, the Commune Image cinema factory encourages filmmaking so that even the boldest projects can be brought to life. The variety and complementarity of the artists we support foster a unique creative synergy in a richly diverse area in the heart of Seine-Saint-Denis.
H7
Through the opening of H7 in Lyon, Groupe SOS Culture has taken steps to make technological innovation work for everyone.
H7 is a centre dedicated to entrepreneurs, with support programmes built around technology, creativity and social impact. A flagship of the French Tech movement, it is housed in a 5,000 sq. m. former boiler making factory, with 350 workstations and an events hall. In less than a year after the venue opened in 2019, around a hundred companies had been supported and 100,000 people had come to discover a new, more sustainable, and more inclusive way of doing innovation.
H7 is run as a consortium between Groupe SOS, Arty Farty and Axeleo.
Coco Velten
Coco Velten, which has been set up for three years on the premises of the former Roads Directorate, is one of the first experiments to make use of a temporarily unoccupied government building. Giving life to temporarily vacant buildings to house homeless people is an opportunity to turn a dormant site into a bold and meaningful project.
More than moving people in need from the streets to sustainable housing, Coco Velten creates an innovative approach to assistance. This experimental space combines social, cultural and economic life, while being open to the citizens of Marseille. An office and workshop space managed by the Plateau Urbain cooperative is home to entrepreneurs and artists. Cultural and civic activities run by Yes We Camp are open to all: gardening workshops, participatory workcamps, cultural and sports activities, work integration, etc. This mix of trades and social groups fosters the creation of connections. The interactions that emerge are fully in line with the social project, with the promise of positive effects on the lives of the people sheltered and all the occupants of the site.
Salle Rameau
The Salle Rameau is an emblematic part of Lyon’s architectural heritage. Built in 1908, it was one of the first French halls dedicated to symphonic concerts.
In 2019, following a request for proposals, the jury selected La Compagnie de Phalsbourg and Scintillo (a Groupe SOS organisation) as the winning bidders, with the responsibility of the cultural programme.
In collaboration with the Compagnie de Phalsbourg, the project will be designed as a centre welcoming life, creation, and music events, as well as a place to work and exchange ideas on contemporary cultural issues, in sync with Lyon’s other cultural venues. Groupe SOS will bring its expertise and its DNA to make the space accessible to everyone, from all generations and all cultures, with a particular focus on the most excluded.
The auditorium of the Salle Rameau, imagined as a venue for both performance and creation, will be devoted to live performances, and more specifically to music: chamber music, French songs, contemporary music, stand-up comedy, etc. The Lyon Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Vincent Balse, will be at the heart of the project for the new Salle Rameau, where it will benefit from a cross-disciplinary programming and have the opportunity to play alongside the greatest contemporary artists.
It is expected to open for the 2024-2025 cultural season.