Context and challenges:

Since 2015, Clermont-Ferrand has been a candidate for the title of European Capital of Culture 2028. The region’s candidacy emphasizes its exceptional geography and duality, with its urban, rural and mountainous areas. The bid is highly participatory in nature (with local residents, the region and its stakeholders, particularly cultural), which raises the question of how to mobilize and structure these different stakeholders.

Our role:

The management of the association supporting the candidacy of Clermont-Ferrand and the Massif Central commissioned Beaux Arts Consulting to carry out a study to identify the best tools, processes and dynamics for consolidating and animating a network of cultural, administrative and economic players over a vast territory, and to prefigure a tool improving cultural mediation with the audiences of the players in this network:

• Benchmarking of professional organizations promoting territories and/or know-how,
• Development of scenarios proposing several mixes of tools and services and associated budgets,
• Economic modeling of the selected scenario and development of an operational roadmap,
• Facilitation of workshops with stakeholders to re-evaluate their needs and open up the field of cultural mediation,
• Drafting of cultural mediation training protocols.

Impact and follow-up:

This mission provided input for the project team’s thinking on structuring mechanisms for cultural players in the bid area (mainly in rural areas).

On March 3, 2023, the bid was selected alongside Bourges, Montpellier, and Rouen for the second phase of the selection process.