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= Atelier des Lumières = The Atelier des Lumières (English trsnslation: Workshop of Light) is a digital art center located at 38 rue Saint-Maur in the 11th arrondissement of Paris. Created by Culturespaces, it opened its doors on 13 April 2018.

Fonderie du Chemin-Vert
Before becoming a digital art center, the Atelier des Lumières was a steel foundry known as the "Fonderie du Chemin-Vert" opened in 1835 by the Plichon brothers. This foundry, which was owned by four generations of Plichon brothers, was a flourishing business for over 100 years.

The economic crisis of 1929 caused the foundry to close. It was sold to the Martin family, the current owners, in 1935.

Acquisition and construction work
Culturespaces was looking for a place that could host a digital art center with immersive exhibitions; after two years of searching for a place that had both an identity and vast spaces, the choice fell on the Chemin-Vert foundry in 2017. Two years of work were necessary before the opening to the public on 26 April 2018. This rehabilitation is in line with the trend of revalorising and transforming Parisian industrial heritage, in the tradition of the Société des Cendres, the Grands Moulins de Paris, the Paris-Ivry refrigeration station, or Station F in the Halle Freyssinet.

Nearly 80 years later, Bruno Monnier, president of Culturespaces, rediscovered this forgotten industrial heritage and decided to turn it into a digital art center where immersive exhibitions dedicated to the greatest artists in the history of art and more contemporary creations would be projected.

The Atelier des Lumières opened its doors on 13 April 2018.

Main Hall

 * "Gustav Klimt" (13 April 2018 - 6 January 2019), a long programme directed by Gianfranco Iannuzzi, Massimiliano Siccardi and Renato Gatto. This exhibition presents the works of the painter Gustav Klimt, a major figure of the Viennese Secession.
 * "Hundertwasser, in the footsteps of the Viennese Secession" (13 April 2018 - 6 January 2019), a short programme directed by Gianfranco Iannuzzi, Massimiliano Siccardi and Renato Gatto. This exhibition invites you to travel through the colorful world of Hundertwasser, heir to Klimt.
 * Terra Magnifica, Yann Arthus-Bertrand (19 October - 4 November 2018).
 * "Van Gogh, The Starry Night" (22 February - 31 December 2019), by Gianfranco Iannuzzi, Renato Gatto and Massimiliano Siccardi.
 * "Monet, Renoir... Chagall. Voyages en Méditerranée" (28 February 2020 to 31 October 2020) by Gianfranco Iannuzzi, Renato Gatto, and Massimiliano Siccardi.
 * "Dalí, the Endless Enigma" (19 May 2021 - 2 January 2022) by Gianfranco Iannuzzi, Renato Gatto and Massimiliano Siccardi.
 * "Cezanne, Lumières de Provence" (18 February 2022 - 2 January 2023) by Gianfranco Iannuzzi.

Second hall

 * Verse, Thomas Vanz and Jonathan Fitas, from 22 February to 6 January 2020.
 * Colours X Colours, Thomas Blanchard and Oilhack, from 7 September 2018 to 6 January 2019.
 * "POETIC_AI" (13 April to 6 September), contemporary creation by the Ouchhh collective.

Technical setting
Developed by Culturespaces, the immersive digital exhibitions are designed using thousands of images of digitised works of art, broadcast in very high resolution via optical fiber and set in motion to the rhythm of the music. They are made possible by a video installation of 140 projectors and a spatialized sound system thanks to 50 loudspeakers, adapted to the constraints of the venue and designed to measure.

These digital exhibitions are developed using AMIEX (Art and Music Immersive Experience) technology, developed by Culturespaces since 2012. This technology uses Barco projectors. This set of specially calibrated projectors allows the images to follow all the shapes of the old foundry.

The site offers two projection rooms: the main room called "the Hall" and a secondary room, "the Studio". The Studio is a bar, totally soundproofed in relation to the main space. It is a space dedicated to multimedia works by young creators and directors.

Digital expositions
The Atelier des Lumières offers so-called "immersive" exhibitions: visitors are invited to wander through the space where they can discover thousands of digitised images of works of art to the sound of a musical composition. This gives the impression of being immersed in the paintings.

These exhibitions, produced by Culturespaces, are directed by the artistic director Gianfranco Iannuzzi, a designer of immersive spaces and exhibitions who artistically rearranges atypical places.

The music in the Klimt exhibition includes classical symphonic works (Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9) and more contemporary works (Philip Glass' Etude No. 2 and Luca Longobardi's Glass Recomposed).

Art in immersion
Since the creation of the Atelier des Lumières, the Culturespaces Foundation has created "Art en immersion": a programme of activities dedicated to children in difficulty, who are far from the cultural offer. This programme is dedicated to children aged 6 to 10. It is divided into four stages: an educational workshop, a free visit to the Atelier des Lumières, a creative workshop and a mini-exhibition in the school or host structure. 70 social structures participate in this project with approximately 2,300 children.

Relationship to art
The Journal des Arts explains that the target audience is not primarily connoisseurs of the world of art and culture, but rather families and young people who are not used to visiting museums. L'Atelier des Lumières targets both a family audience, who would not dare to enter a museum, and a specialist audience, curious to discover an artist in a new way. Télérama notes the lightness of the proposed educational aspect. Adrien Goetz, in Le Figaro, finds that it is an approach aimed solely at collecting admissions, destroying the subtlety of the works in favour of a pleasant and unsubtle experience. Cécile Guilbert, in La Croix, agrees, seeing it as a creation that seeks to prevent thinking, a suffocation of art by culture. Mathilde Serrell of France Culture qualifies these remarks, seeing it as a way of reaching the 25% of people who never go to museums, as long as the type of exhibition proposed by the Atelier des Lumières complements the classic cultural offer rather than replacing it. Bruno Monnier, President of Culturespaces, explains in an interview with Les Echos that he wants to combine pleasure and culture, whereas museums in France still too often oppose the scientific and recreational dimensions.

ELLE magazine speaks of an "experience" whose ambition is not to replace museums but rather to make people want to return to them and see them in a refreshed light. Jérôme Glicenstein agrees, seeing it as an "interesting reflection, work of interpretation, like a book of collages. Of course, it is a form of betrayal of the artist, but it is assumed. What prevails is the shared experience". He brings immersive exhibitions closer to other artistic devices such as carousels or sound and light shows.

Attendance
In its first year of operation, the Atelier des Lumières welcomed more than one million visitors, 12% of whom were under 25 years old.

Connection to surrounding areas
Restaurant owners in the 11th arrondissement have seen their turnover increase significantly following the opening of the Atelier des lumières. The new influx of tourists is celebrated by those who feel that the district is becoming more lively, regretted by others for whom it is losing its charm.