Rendez-vous page X - public presentation of Floraine Sintès' residency in Villeurbanne - combines history, collective memory, and urban space.

Over the course of the project, a series of writing workshops brought together residents of Villeurbanne. Accompanied by the artist, they co-wrote a story based on Villeurbanne's municipal archives from Le Rize, consisting mainly of old newspapers.

Guided by Floraine Sintès' approach to arpentage (a method of collective reading originally practised in grassroots activist circles) and détournement (the principle of appropriating pre-existing formats), the participants embarked on a collective writing process. They constructed a narrative that interweaves the past and present of the city, using the framework of the book of which you are the hero.

The novel, accessible at Le Rize and during group reading sessions, draws on multiple voices and perspectives, highlighting the arborescent structure of urban memory, where the branching paths of history reflect the complex and fragmented histories of the city itself.

The story revolves around La Rize, the underground river that once flowed through Villeurbanne and neighbouring Lyon. Now hidden beneath the many tunnels and covering slabs, the Rize becomes a metaphor for discreet persistence, echoing the forgotten histories and silent struggles that shape a city's identity.

The resulting interactive novel explores a story of struggle: a group of citizens, committed to resistance against corrupt interests, confront the exploitation of the city and the pollution that led to the demise of La Rize. The narrative is fluid, shaped by the choices of its readers, underlining the collective nature of memory and the role of the community in shaping its own future.

The exhibition unfolds in the shop front windows of a disused grocery shop, where fragments of the collective fiction take shape.

Participating contributors to the Titivillus book: Florence Berger, Jean-Yves Clavier, Laetitia Dehgan, Magalie Meunier, Laura Montmory, Maya Rechain, Amaïa Sainz-Ruiz, Floraine Sintès, Julie Vazquez.

Co-creation and co-animation of the arborescence workshop: Amaïa Sainz-Ruiz

Graphic design of the Titivillus book: Anaïs Chappelet

Thanks to Anaïs Chappelet, Agathe Chevallier, Agathe Berthou, Magalie Meunier, Maya Rechain, Emilie Launay, Margot Garlenc, Julie Vazquez, Amaïa Sainz-Ruiz, Camille et Rémi Sintès, Maden Moisix, Sofya Zamanskaya, Léa Casaurang-Maupas et Mathilde Gadiolet de la SVU, le Rize, les Archives municipales de la ville de Lyon et la BmL.

 

Group reading sessions

In February, visitors will have the opportunity to take part in three reading sessions accompanied by the artist. These collective readings will bring the story to life and allow visitors to become actively involved in the ongoing creation of the narrative. Each session invites participants to imagine new solutions and new paths. In these participatory moments, the boundary between fiction and reality becomes porous, and the readers, like the characters in the novel, shape the trajectory of the story.

registrations

When?

• February 11, 13 and 18 at 6.30pm

Where?

• 115 Cours Tolstoï, Villeurbanne

To register, send an email to contact@studioganek.com

Floraine Sintès

Born in 1995, Floraine Sintès lives and works in Lyon.

She graduated from the Ecole nationale supérieure des beaux-arts de Lyon in 2020 and co-runs Monopôle, an artist-run space in Lyon. Her work has been shown at the IAC Villeurbanne, the Célestins Théâtre in Lyon, the Brasserie Atlas in Brussels, the Théâtre Carré in Amsterdam and Homesession in Barcelona. In March 2025, she will take part in the group show Iels sont le feu à l'intérieur de nous at the Polaris in Corbas (cur. Leïla Couradin).

This project was made possible thanks to the support of:

La DRAC Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

La Société Villeurbannaise d’Urbanisme

Le Rize