
Cultural Actions
Between entertainment and poetry, artistic and cultural education at La Belle Électrique is accessible to all, through encounter and practice, by making the public the own actors of cultural creation in their school, their neighborhood, their city...

Artistic and cultural education
"Great works of art are only great because they are accessible and comprehensible to everyone." - Leo Tolstoï
Cultural actions don't only aim to make culture intelligible and accessible to everyone. They also allow the individual to be placed at the very center of creation and think of their own expression as a form of art in its own right.
Through cultural actions, we are willing to break down the barriers between the elitist perception of artistic practices and the so-called "common" art. This way, we want to awaken vocations as well as a feeling of legitimacy in each participant. These moments make it possible to give all participants the tools they need to create, learn and express themselves, independently of their daily cultural practices and with a dimension of sharing.
By gathering participants, supervisors and speakers, we also want the artists to find the inspiration that is so precious to their creation and the supervisors to witness and experience different visions of the world.
Concretely, artistic and cultural education is bespoke and can take multiple forms:
Initiation to amplified music and digital cultures, multi-topic workshops (plastic arts, dance...), Boom Boom for all, guided tours of La Belle Électrique, backstage discovery, public rehearsals, meetings with artists…
A single session, a workshop or a full project... There are as many options as ideas!

Audiences
The public, actors of our cultural actions
We try to reach the biggest audience possible :
- Schools, from nursery to university;
- Daycares and families;
- Adults;
- Seniors;
- Social action structures; medical structures;
- People in reintegration;
- Prison environment…
Focus on the early childhood:
It is more that necessary for children to discover artistic disciplines and practices from the earliest age. To support these grown-ups to be, we work on helping them develop their critical mind so that they are best prepared for the rest of their learning!

Implementation
Each project is unique, with a common focus: teamwork
For each project, an activity is built with a partner (a structure, an association, a school...) and an artist that will guide and animate the session. Together, we build a project in the most innovative way, with a strong focus on public service.
The choice of digital cultures linked to amplified music allows us to train the artists and to raise awareness about these new practices among our partners (e.g. teachers or early childhood professionals).
It is also a way to introduce young adults to new techniques and tools. However, the goal is above all to give children and toddlers the opportunity to develop a critical view of digital technology.
Current projects

Vibes & Vision • Musical and visual creation, a collaborative project
Two 4th grade classes at Collège Olympique are plunging into the world of electronic music and VJing thanks to musician Augustin Garnier and visual artist Johanna Rousseau. Students compose their own tracks using computer-aided music (CAM) software and learn VJing techniques, combining visuals and live music. This immersive project gives them an insight into the world of music and video production. In addition to the creative workshops, they are given a tour of La Belle Électrique. The collective creation will be presented on May 9 in our venue, where the budding artists will showcase their work in front of their peers, parents and professionals, celebrating this wonderful artistic adventure!
Project supported by the Département as part of Isère Collégiens and Pass Culture.

Les Petites Cosmogonies • Soundscapes in nurseries and kindergartens
Throughout April, we're delighted to welcome the Duende collective for musical discovery and exploration in three crèches in Sector 1 and two kindergarten classes at the Simone Lagrange school. In conjunction with the show Cosmogonie de poche, presented at La Belle on Tuesday April 29, the artists are offering a series of workshops based around an instrumentarium combining world instruments and loopers. A journey around the elements, combining soundscapes and lullabies from near and far...
To complete the experience, children from the crèches will come and see the show at La Belle Electrique, and the Grande Section kindergarten pupils will present a performance in June in front of their classmates and families!
This project was made possible thanks to the support of DRAC Auvergne Rhône-Alpes.

Radio project at Collège Fantin Latour • Ville en Transition: schoolchildren take the microphone
As part of the Biennale des Villes en Transition, two classes from Collège Fantin Latour are taking part in a radio project with La Belle Électrique. The 4th graders are conducting investigations into the subject of water: micro-trottoir, interviews with researchers, a visit to the Radio Campus Grenoble studios... The 6th graders are imagining the city of 2050 through sound fictions combining storytelling, sound effects and musical creation. Somewhere between journalism, science and artistic creation, they explore the possible transformations of their environment. Come and discover the results on Friday May 16 at Parc Paul Mistral, during a live radio broadcast as part of the “Ville en Transition” biennial event.
Project supported by the Département as part of the Isère Collégiens program.

Décibels • Creative sounds for hospitalized children
Since March, the pediatric ward at Grenoble University Hospital has been transformed into a song nursery! Thanks to musician and songwriter Auren, and composer David Debray, hospitalized children and teenagers can give free rein to their creativity through songwriting and musical workshops. Working individually or in groups, the youngsters explore words and their sounds, while creating live pieces. These moments offer a unique space for expression, allowing them to approach the disease in a different way or to escape to personal themes. The project will culminate in two concerts, the first at the CHU and the second at the Bar de la Belle on Saturday May 17, giving participants the opportunity to share the fruits of their labors with their loved ones.
Many thanks to the teams from the pediatric wards of the Hôpital Couple-enfant for their investment.
A project supported by ARS Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, DRAC Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, as part of the regional Culture et Santé program.

Hadra x Foyer des Béalières • A creation of electronic music and groovy poetry
This season we are renewing our partnership with our neighbors from the Hadra association! On the program: an electro artist, Hamcat, and a lyricist and guitarist, Dïa, meet the residents of the Béalières home (AFIPH) for six workshops and an exceptional concert. After a tour of La Belle Électrique, a chat with a VJ about scenography and mapping ahead of the final Hadra evening, and the Astéréotypie concert, it's time to get practical! Between songwriting, DJing and vocal work, participants will be able to express their talents by trying out different musical practices at Labo de la Belle.
See you on Friday June 13 at the bar for this free concert open to all!

Scène libre • A concert organized by inmates for inmates
The Belle Électrique team is back at the Varces prison! Accompanying a group of volunteer inmates in the organization of the concert of their choice, we offer a discovery of the trades and organization of the show. Programming, production, communication, technical aspects and reception are the main items to be handled by the ten participants in the project, assisted by the La Belle team. The ambition is to welcome the concert and its audience in the best possible conditions, from sound adjustments to dressing room preparation, from creating the poster to welcoming co-inmates! After Les Pythons de la Fournaise in 2022, which band will our budding programmers choose to perform in Varces? We can't wait to find out!
This project is part of the Culture & Justice program, supported by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Culture, in partnership with the Grenoble SPIP.

Kaléidoscopes
Kaleidoscopes is a chance for youngsters to get to grips with music and movement arts without pricking themselves! Three sessions to touch, listen, feel, look and, above all, create by interweaving sound and dance. Accompanied by a contemporary music artist and a dance artist, who have devised a hands-on discovery program for the occasion, children experiment with what music produces through their bodies.
A partnership between La Belle Electrique and the Centre Chorégraphique National de Grenoble, these workshops are aimed at both groups of children in leisure centers and individuals. These three workshops take place alternately in the CCN dance studios and in the Labo de la Belle practice room, for children aged 8 to 12, subject to registration.

Backstage
Our desire to be as close as possible to our audiences is expressed in many ways at La Belle, and the En coulisses program is one of them. These regular gatherings enable us to meet the artists programmed in the venue, to visit the building and to attend the sound check, a stage of work usually closed to the public.
So it is that a singer like Faada Freddy decides to improvise a composition accompanied by 6th graders, that the Usine à jazz composer begins to give "tips" to high school music students, or that the singer HK embarks high school students on a real fake demonstration...
These privileged moments blur the boundary between artists and spectators, and offer a unique insight into the world of music. Most of the time, the artists are not to be outdone in their curiosity: they love these encounters and ask lots of questions in return...

La Belle outside the walls
Because not everyone can get to a cultural venue, La Belle Electrique reaches out to those who don't necessarily frequent its concert hall by organizing showcases, 45-minute mini-concerts followed by a time of discussion with the artists. So it's that after lunch, EHPAD residents regularly see a technician transforming the refectory into a warm and inviting place to listen to music, or the sound of music at the end of a corridor in the St-Egrève public mental health facility, or a festive moment at the Point d'Eau association, a day care center for the underprivileged. Alone or in small groups, the artists surprise the site's users by offering a musical interlude and a close encounter with the public!
Past projects

Adèle & Robin • Music workshops in Tullins
Accompanied artists, Adèle & Robin are also involved in cultural action! Since January, they have been working regularly in Tullins on a 100% music project with the pupils of 2 CM2 classes and students from the music school. The project has several objectives: to compose a song, from lyrics to musical composition, as well as to rearrange two songs by Adèle and Robin. These different sessions between students and artists will cover all the stages involved in creating a song, culminating in a performance in front of what we hope will be a large audience! On Tuesday April 1 in Tullins, professional artists and amateurs will share the stage, and you're all welcome!
This residency was made possible thanks to the “residency for creation and cultural action” scheme funded by the CNM and the Département de l'Isère.

Mothership • DIY or the art of sound synthesis
Mothership, the latest musical project from rock band MNNQNS, celebrates an electronic musical instrument that's making a comeback: the modular synthesizer. More than just a concert, the musicians of MNNQNS are offering workshops to learn how to build a module of the instrument and explore the world of sound synthesis. Guided by Robin (sound engineer) and Grégoire (drummer), some fifteen participants will learn the basics of sound design, assemble modules and explore a world of new sounds! As a result, some of the pieces composed in the workshop may well be included in the concert on the big day!
To find out more about Mothership, come along to L'Ampérage on Friday, February 21!

Tatalia • Imersion in music and water for toddlers
We're delighted to welcome Flaca Boonse back this season for his next creation: Tatalia! An immersive performance in an aquatic universe, Tatalia takes toddlers on a journey through an electro ambience inspired by Argentinean lullabies and improvised melodies. To fine-tune the show, musician Flaca Boonse and dancer Agnès Canova took over the EAJE La Goélette dormitory for exploratory sessions... Over 4 mornings, the children took part in early-learning workshops, discovering with wonder the scenography composed of video projections as well as various objects: fish, luminous devices and other pompons.
The show will soon see the light of day, and you'll be able to discover it at La Belle Électrique!
A project supported by DRAC Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.

Hip-hop made in Varces
Since last March, rapper Kespar has been regularly setting up his Computer-Aided Music (CAM) studio at the Varces prison to help inmates create tailor-made songs. This meaningful project is made possible by a close partnership with the Retour de Scène association, already well known for its writing workshops over the years. So it seemed only natural to join forces to extend the opportunity for self-expression and bring participants' texts to life by setting them to music. The instrumentation cycle concludes with a professional recording of the tracks, made in a mobile studio, allowing participants to see their work through to fruition.
To round off this initiative, a showcase hosted by Kespar is scheduled for Monday September 30, during which the most daring participants will be able to take the microphone and share their work in front of an audience.
This project is part of the Culture & Justice program, supported by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Culture, in partnership with the Grenoble SPIP and Retour de Scène.

Cie Les Entêtés • Cultural action residency at the college
From October 2024 to January 2025, students in 6ᵉ4 and 5ᵉ4 at Lucie Aubrac middle school enjoyed a unique artistic experience: composing their songs and putting them into images! Guided by 3 professional artists, they explored all the creative stages. With Vincent, it was songwriting: theme, lyrics, rhymes, melody. With Mathieu, they used body percussion to give rhythm to their songs. Then, thanks to Elise and her camera, their songs were brought to life in video clips. A screening at La Belle in January, shared with pupils from Les Buttes school, celebrated their creativity and talent as they put the finishing touches to their work!
The project was spearheaded by the Lucie Aubrac secondary school teaching team: Noémie Pinéro, Katy Magnasco and Jimmy Dorelon, the Les Entêtés company and La Belle Électrique, and was supported by Isère Collégiens, Cité Educative and Pass Culture.

Digital symphony
Strongly committed to schemes linking Culture and Health, we are continuing our partnership with the Centre Hospitalier Alpes-Isère through an ambitious project: Symphonie numérique. With the aim of discovering two artistic disciplines, digital arts and electronic music, two artists will accompany participants in the creation of a visual and sound work tailor-made for a hospital building.
Since June, Johanna Rousseau and James Leonard have been running participatory workshops open to all CHAI patients. The result will be a monumental sound and light projection that will bring the chapel's façade to life! We look forward to seeing you in December...
With the support of the Agence Régionale de Santé Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, the Ministère de la Culture - DRAC Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, the Région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and the Département de l'Isère, as part of the Culture et Santé regional program run by interSTICES.

40 guitars on a drunken boat
Bringing together 40 electric guitars on a contemporary score inspired by Rimbaud's poem Le Bateau ivre (The Drunken Boat) is the crazy challenge launched by Gilles Laval in Grenoble and Chambéry! For almost six months, 20 musicians from each city will rehearse in parallel, then together, to give two exceptional concerts in June 2024. Initially composed for 100 guitars, this "eco-poetic" musical creation explores the theme of the ocean, and invites us to use the guitar in different ways (with the help of wooden chopsticks, for example...). We can't wait to see the finale of this wonderful adventure!
An adventure led by the APEJS, the Chef Menteur association and La Belle Electrique, supported by the DRAC AuRA and carried out in partnership with the CROUS de Grenoble, the Ecole Nationale de Musique de Villeurbanne, Savarez Electric and Ebows.

Funk at the Petites Roches with Cocotte !
This spring, we invited the musicians of our favorite band Cocotte to get some fresh air and a bit of height! Direction: Saint-Bernard du Touvet. The group will be stopping off there in April and May to take over the "Foyer des Petites Roches", an associative dance, theater and music school. For this creative and cultural residency, the members of Cocotte composed a song especially for the school's contemporary music section, and invited the students to produce their own video clip! To find out more about this work, come and see us in June, when we'll be holding a concert and projection to round off the project!
Cocotte is supported by La Belle Electrique and Les Abattoirs. This project was financed as part of a residency for creation and cultural action supported by the Département de l'Isère and the CNM.

Harmonies contées
For the past few weeks, a strange project has been brewing at the EHPAD du Bon Pasteur in Saint-Martin d'Hères. Milena, a Franco-Armenian pop artist, Alderaan, a psytrance DJ, a dozen residents and lots of equipment: microphones, guitars, controllers, zoom recorders, computers, word boxes... Between discovering electronic music, writing and singing, the EHPAD is hosting 6 workshops to create a sound composition around the theme of the seasons! After exploring the acoustics of the chapel, capturing the sounds of the garden and recording at Le Labo, the residents will present their work accompanied by our two artists on Friday April 26 over an aperitif...
A project supported by the ARS, DRAC, Département de l'Isère and Région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, as part of the regional Culture and Health program run by interSTICES.

Les Mamies Guitares
Participatory artistic performance with electric guitar and writing.
From March 14 to 18, 2022, Labo de la Belle hosted an extraordinary adventure. For five days, seven senior women came together to take part in a creative process involving guitar and writing.
Guided by a crack team, Odile, Zohra, Maryse, Pascale, Jocelyne, Michèle and Anne took part in this adventure. In the hands of Mathieu Sourisseau, they discovered the guitar in an original and accessible way, and were able to immerse themselves in writing under the guidance of Ronan Mancec.
As the planned performance at l'Ampérage could not take place due to the covid, a document bringing together texts and photos of the project is due to be published shortly.
This project is run in partnership with the PAGI (Pôle d'Animation Gérontologique et Intergénérationnelle) of the Maison des Habitants Chorier-Berriat.
A project supported by the Auvergne-Rhône Alpes Region as part of the Regional Fund for Artistic and Cultural Innovation.

Les pieds sur (star)ter !
Introductory radio workshops for Starter students.
In 2022, the partnership between La Belle and the Starter scheme, which enables young people in 3rd grade to re-enter the school system, took on a new form: a radio project.
The workshops, spread over two months, brought together 15 young people from the Guynemer vocational high school. The involvement of Radio Campus, a partner in the project, enabled these young people to take their first steps in this practice and to learn about its tools and media: handling recorders, preparing and conducting interviews, introduction to audio editing and hosting a column...
With a view to professionalization, the young people were also invited to interview Belle Électrique professionals and artists to find out more about their professions.
The final objective was to create a series of podcasts reporting on these encounters, while giving the young people a free space to express themselves. Ultimately, they hosted a live broadcast during a Radio Campus Apérophonie.
This project was carried out in partnership with the Starter program and Radio Campus, and is supported by the DRAC AuRa as a cultural initiative.

Get in touch with Émeraude
Are you an artist, a social structure or part of an association ? Are you willing to organise a tour of La Belle Électrique, to build a project together or simply talk to us ?
Émeraude will be pleased to discuss with you!
- Émeraude Gomes, Cultural Actions Manager
- action.culturelle@la-belle-electrique.com
- 04 69 98 00 33
© Stevens Drean