Loïc Clairet, Director General of the "Nuit de la Culture"; Credit: Nuit de la Culture

Chronicle.lu recently had the opportunity to speak with Loïc Clairet, Director General of the "Nuit de la Culture" (Night of Culture) events, organised under the aegis of the Esch2022 - European Capital of Culture programme. 

The Nuit de la Culture event has been organised in Esch-sur-Alzette since 2011, and this year, in the framework of Esch2022, it is taking place over five nights across five territories.

Chronicle.lu: What is the emphasis of the Nuit de la Culture in the Esch2022 framework and the main focus areas of the events?

Loïc Clairet: The Nuit de la Culture is an integral part of the European Capital of Culture. The Nuit de la Culture has existed for several years and has become one of the key projects of the city of Esch-sur-Alzette. Each event offers around 50 multidisciplinary, participatory projects in the public space.

Chronicle.lu: How do this year's Nuit de la Culture events differ from the previous one-night editions in Luxembourg City, for example?

Loïc Clairet: The Nuit de la Culture has been transformed for this year 2022 into five nights which have been carried out during the year. For the “Nuit(s) de la Culture” of 2022, since there are five this year, we started the preparations in 2020 because the event is designed to involve the inhabitants, associations, local artists and many others. Whether you are an art lover or a gardener, a cook or a gardener... everyone can find a place in the Nuit de la Culture. During these two years, we have set up collective meetings in five districts of the city to decide together on themes, dates, projects and to build the projects collectively. The Nuit de la Culture in Esch may therefore not be the same here as in Luxembourg City or in Strasbourg.

Chronicle.lu: The events from 2 to 10 September are under the heading "Métamorphose". Can you please elaborate on this?

Loïc Clairet: The city of Esch-sur-Alzette is mainly known for its iron and steel industry. With the decline of this industry, the city has set in motion a new dynamic in various sectors: cultural, economic, landscape, architectural, etc. The city is in the midst of a transformation to become the "capital of doing, the capital of know-how". We therefore wanted to promote this transformation, this mutation of the city. Through metamorphosis, we start from the history of the city, from the wastelands, from the urban stigma that this causes and we accompany and project a very natural city, with new districts and full of life.

Chronicle.lu: What are the different formats for the series of  the Nuit de la Culture events and are these formats adapted for different groups of people?

Loïc Clairet: The Nuit de la Culture is suitable for everyone. We want to put the family at the centre of our concerns, so the projects are aimed at children, adults and seniors. Each Nuit de la Culture offers something for everyone.

As the vast majority of projects are set up and offered in the public space, we are able to attract a wide audience. An audience that is often far from official cultural venues, but one that is looking for new experiences.

Chronicle.lu: How many different Nuit de la Culture events are planned in total and which sites, apart from Esch-Sur-Alzette and Belval, are hosting these events?

Loïc Clairet: The Nuit de la Culture from 2 to 10 September will offer 50 projects in the city, mainly in the historic heart of the city for this edition. After a year of travelling around the different districts and even in France, we will finish in the city centre.

Chronicle.lu: How has attendance at the Nuit de la Culture events been so far? As organisers, did you come across any specific challenge in terms of public participation?

Loïc Clairet: The participation in the events since the beginning of the year and even more widely in the project is good. If we talk in terms of the public, apart from the April event which was marked by snow, hail, rain, etc., which obviously dampened the public's appetite for the event, the various events attract between 8,000 and 12,000 people. For the project itself, the participation in the construction of the events, the volunteer involvement, which we call the “Great Dreamers”, no less than 5,000 people have participated, from two hours to two years. We are therefore satisfied with the work undertaken and the feedback from the public. This encourages us and motivates us to do more and more and to continue to write this story collectively.

Chronicle.lu: Which kind of events (such as music, art, architecture, dance, etc.) have had the most public participation so far?

Loïc Clairet: Music and dance events are often the most popular as they are in a frontal relationship and more easily tangible. An exhibition in a public space is more difficult to quantify in terms of public feedback. But each project attracts its own audience or the curious. This is also what the Nuit de la Culture is all about: opening doors to new forms, to amateur and professional artists, to popular arts projects and to cutting-edge technology.

Chronicle.lu: Are there different organisers responsible for the different Nuit de la Culture series of events? If so, how does coordination work between the different event managers?

Loïc Clairet: To create the different events of the Nuit de la Culture, we have two stages. The first one with the local forces to create the basis of the events and allow everyone to make proposals. For this year 2022, we have 350 partners (associations, artistic collectives, institutions, etc.). Then the second step is to invite international artists to come and complete the programme where it is lacking. This also allows us to create encounters, to add a European dimension to the project and to progress collectively in our practices. These invited collectives number around 100. The team then has to manage the different groups by organising a large number of collective and individual meetings in order to respond to each one according to their needs, but also to preserve the collective energy of the project.