IDK

'Speculative design workshops using "the future" to explore alternative realities and perceptions of communities with youth groups from the Paris suburbs.'
Working alongside resident youth group ASAD, and as part of the Dome Collective, we have been exploring what the future (or “turfu” in French slang) holds for teenagers in La Courneuve, a Paris suburb which has faced wide-scale demolition and urban upheaval. Using speculative design as a medium and method, the workshops help these young explorers find new narratives for their spaces. Through workshops and creative sessions, the group has produced self-published fanzines containing speculative projections of objects and buildings from futures of their own making. The first phase of the project culminated in an exhibition and publication launch at the gallery Libre Service in Pigalle and the take-over of an apartment in the soon to be demolished Mail de Fontenay in La Courneuve. A copy of the fanzine was buried in a time capsule in the Parc Georges Valbon, to be dug up in 2039. The ongoing collaboration with these young people seeks to open up experiences and offer toolkits that often remain out of reach. La Courneuve is just one of the many suburbs surrounding Paris which deserve a more nuanced understanding – the kind that often flourishes with the perspective of youth.


Project: La Cité Du Turfu
Location: Paris
Year: 2019 - Ongoing
Type: Engagement
Collaborators: Saida Essifry, Micha Barban-Dangerfield, ASAD Association, L’amicale Du Mail, Palais De Tokyo, Reflet Machine, Libre Service