The definition of the word “territory” in the French Larousse dictionary is as follows: “portion of the earth's space under the control of a state, a city, a jurisdiction; space considered as a whole forming a coherent physical, administrative and human unit”. This definition sounds statist, cold, bureaucratic, and gives far too much importance to centralized forms of order and power. It even fails to mention the inhabitants of this “portion”.
Nouvelles saisons, self-portrait of a territory, a project developed by arc en rêve centre d'architecture in 2025, moves away from this relatively narrow and ultimately ungenerous vision of what constitutes a territory, by creating a space where the multiplicity of narratives that make up the Gironde can manifest themselves.
In 2023, we asked ourselves whether we needed to refocus on Bordeaux to tell the story of the lifestyles and changes taking place in the city where arc en rêve was born in 1981. The administrative divisions seemed too narrow to us, so we concluded that for many of us, our living space extends as far as the department and even beyond, to the Landes, the Dordogne or the Charentes.
In defining this field, the boundaries of which remain rather vague, we were pursuing an objective that was totally opposed to the Larousse definition: for us, a territory is not a “coherent unit” but rather a dynamic arrangement in which conflicts, oppositions and sometimes temporary alignments or alliances unfold over time.
We were looking for everything but coherence, to show how people inhabit and shake up the places in which they live, and also to show how we can intervene, as active subjects and decision-makers, in the processes of transformation.
Nouvelles saisons is intended to be a democratic initiative, in which no institution, and certainly not arc en rêve, can arrogate to itself the right to present a uniform and monolithic version of what constitutes the territory in which we live. Any imposition of a unilateral vision would be tantamount to an attempt to exert power, which is a far cry from our practices. On the contrary, it is through the expression of differences and less visible or minority viewpoints that we can better anchor the transformation projects needed to adapt to the changes underway.
Nouvelles saisons functions as an open palimpsest, in constant evolution, articulated around different activities. The exhibition presents the complexity and different ways in which the territory, or better, the territories of the Gironde, are apprehended. In this way, we provide the expertise and tools to enable different narratives to meet and establish a dialogue.
Three proposals are combined to deploy this principle: an exhibition, events and publications. The first, installed in the main gallery, which opened on 20 February 2025, presents over 70 contributions on a rotating basis, with the display and museography evolving over the exhibition period. These contributions are the result of a call for applications launched in 2023, carte blanche offers to structures active in the region and direct invitations. The participants come from a wide range of disciplines, creating a polyphonic narrative that is constantly evolving. Writing and accompaniment work present each content to the public, generating over the months a memory of the exhibition itself.
The second proposal takes the form of public events, organized both inside (galleries, forecourt, auditorium) and outside arc en rêve. Performances, workshops, site visits, round tables, meals and conferences amplify and delve deeper into the issues and themes raised by the participants, enabling the public to share their experiences. The accumulation of information and personal accounts gathered at these events gradually feeds into the Nouvelles saisons archives.
Lastly, the third proposal is based on a growing collection of thought that is manifested in paper and digital publications and in the arc en rêve online revue. The publications stem from the various contributions. Under a cover based on the cartel of the work, an image of the installation preserves its memory, associated with documents presented in the exhibition, sometimes supplemented by more detailed appendices. The different types of paper and formats echo the heterogeneity of the content. These publications are collected in a binder that can be consulted in the last bay of the main gallery, and are also accessible on the arc en rêve website.
The revue explores and extends the questions raised by the various contributions. Published until the exhibition closes, the texts complement each other in two different ways. The first are perspectives, a series of interviews and essays with experts from a variety of disciplines, illustrated by contributions that resonate with the themes identified. The second series takes the form of in-depth contributions designed to build up a collection of thought on the realities of the Gironde and its major issues. Nouvelles saisons will gradually take up a prominent editorial position in the revue over the summer of 2025, before settling in for the autumn-winter 2025-2026 collection. Happy reading!