They make the Université de Lyon: meet the N.U.A.G.E. organization

Meet the members of the N.U.A.G.E. organization, whose “New Urban Generation Festival #2” project won the Campus Arts call for projects.

How did the N.U.A.G.E. organization begin? (New Urban Architect Generation and Esthetic)? What are its aims?

The N.U.A.G.E. organization was founded in 2016 by our friends group. We were all students in the fields of urban art and urbanity, and we wanted to explore together the question: “How can we design the city of the future together?” The idea was to host new gatherings for urban planners, urban artists and citizens, to bring people together to think about the future of our professions and the accessibility of our practices.

Tell us about the “New Urban Generation festival #2” project led by your organization.

The New Urban Generation festival is the N.U.A.G.E. organization’s main project. The first festival was held on May 19, 2017, on the Vaulx-en-Velin campus, and it was a Biennial celebrating urban art. The second festival was held on April 4 and 5, 2019, both on campus and throughout the city of Lyon. It touched on several different themes, including street art, civic and humanitarian engagement, sustainable development, participatory and collaborative practices, etc.

Would you say that urban art can communicate powerful messages? And if so, how?

Urban art tells us about the places surrounding us and the world we live in; this is why we believe that art enriches our view of the city and that it can shed new light on urban life. Through our project, we aim to spotlight participatory, collaborative and inclusive urban practices, through alternative, original uses of various local places to build a meaningful shared space for everyone.

What would you say was the advantage of taking part in the JACES days?

Taking part in the JACES days was an opportunity to help students (re)discover street art and to link our festival to a nation-wide event, to promote our organization and our campus and open it up to the wider world.

As a winner of the Campus Arts call for projects, what support did the IDEXLYON give you?

Winning the Campus Arts call for projects meant receiving a lot of logistical and financial assistance, in particular for promoting the event. It gave it greater visibility and bolstered its relevance. As we also won the “Spotlight” award, the Taverne Gutenberg also supported us in organizing another event, which is scheduled in the fall of 2019 at the Halles du Faubourg.