“The future machine” website

A website designed to implement cultural rights in form and content.

“The machine to travel into the future” : www.ateliersnumeriques-culturesducœur.org/2023

During the summer of 2023, Cultures du cœur proposed to eight social structures in France that their beneficiaries participate in the creation of collective and individual stories on the theme of the future. Free creations, graphics, video, music, digital, podcasts, use of artificial intelligence... to dream together the world of tomorrow!

Workshops designed and run by Benoît Labourdette, with the collaboration of Loussiné Villelegier. As part of “L’été culturel” proposed by the Ministère de la culture.

The purpose of this website is to keep a record of these workshops, their productions and their processes, primarily for the participants, but also for those who wish to discover this approach and its creative mediation devices.

Conception and realization of the website

This website was built as the 8 workshops were held in France. It was built using an agile method, with specifications that evolved as needs arose, by Benoît Labourdette production.

Its primary aim is to make participants’ productions accessible to them as soon as the day is over, so that they can find, view, download and share their creations. This site is made for them, to give value to their productions. Works are uploaded on site as the day progresses. We realized that “souvenir photos”, which show the workshop in progress, are also important, as they are the memory of the process. And the aim of these workshops is to offer participants the opportunity to make a journey, of which the production (graphic, video, audio...) is only the visible part. So, at the end of the day, the collective restitution of what has been created takes place directly on the website. And a QR code is given to participants, enabling them to access it directly with their phone.

The photographs are large in number, with few selections, at the request of the participants, for whom this website is a “database”, enabling them to choose what they wish to keep and distribute on social networks. This website is therefore a mediation tool before being a communication tool.

Structured data to help participants build their identity

The question of identity is at the heart of the cultural mediation approach in the sense of cultural rights: helping people to recognize themselves in their abilities. Thus, the productions put online on the website are associated with their “artists”: each person has a page dedicated to them, where they can find all their productions.

In addition, the productions are associated with themes, which also enable them to be valued in their own right, and to be linked via these themes.

The rightful place in a collective is what makes it possible to identify one’s belonging to a community, a support for building one’s identity. Collectives are identified on the site, and during workshops, the proposed activities move from the individual to the collective.

In order to efficiently construct this structured data, which forms the basis of an automated editorial system, I used the Content Management System (CMS) SPIP, which allows a complete distinction between data and layout.

The project in brief

Take the time, for a whole day, for a poetic approach, within a common theme. Dare to freely draw, cut, write, play music, imagine scenarios, create films, podcasts... without any injunctions. A journey towards self-discovery and greater self-confidence, in a free, non-judgmental creative process that is both individual, personal and collective.

• These workshops brought together 105 participants in 8 locations in France, the artists, creators of everything you can discover on this site.‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍
• The creative emulation was intense, joyful and constructive:
  • 73 videos were produced.‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍
  • 191 pieces of music, podcasts and interviews were created.‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍
  • 1306 creative photographs and workshop documentation were taken.‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍
  • 63 moodboards were created.
  • 64 texts were written in collaboration with the ChatGPT artificial intelligence system.
  • 160 themes organize these creations.‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍
  • This website automatically creates new collective narratives every day, generated by an algorithm from all the creations.
  • All works are available for viewing and downloading on workshop pages.

Discover the website}
www.ateliersnumeriques-culturesducœur.org/2023