{"id":5757,"date":"2026-08-20T09:15:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T07:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/?p=5757"},"modified":"2026-06-08T17:42:33","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T15:42:33","slug":"between-distinct-identities-and-shared-values-inside-the-places-where-digital-artworks-are-made","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/between-distinct-identities-and-shared-values-inside-the-places-where-digital-artworks-are-made\/","title":{"rendered":"Between Distinct Identities and Shared Values: Inside the Places Where Digital Artworks Are Made"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Music creation centers, regional hubs, motion capture studios, craft workshops, and fablabs\u2026 The spaces dedicated to digital creation across the territory are highly diverse, yet they share common values. Skill-sharing, networking, artist residencies, and collaborative support all define their work. Here is an overview of these spaces and the philosophies that shape them. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

What do the places where digital artworks are produced actually look like? While various initiatives aim to map the diversity of existing sites\u2014from fablab<\/a> directories to inventories of digital residencies<\/a>\u2014it is striking to observe that these spaces, regardless of their audiences or technological specialties, share a common set of values. Beneath the diversity of tools and practices emerges a philosophy rooted in connection, experimentation, and human-centered support.Take P\u00f4le Pixel<\/a> in Villeurbanne as an example. \u201cWe like to describe ourselves as the place that brings together the entire image sector: traditional cinema, documentaries, animation, video games, and hybrid and digital arts such as immersive experiences and augmented performances,\u201d explains Maxence Grugier, project manager for hybrid and digital arts and coordinator of the Regional Creation Hub for Digital Environments in Auvergne\u2013Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes.Within its 32,000 square meters, the site hosts equipment rental companies, post-production facilities, and sound design studios alongside cultural organizations such as AADN<\/a>, GRAME<\/a>, and Erasme<\/a>, the open innovation lab of the Lyon metropolitan area. The hub reflects the nature of digital creation itself: a convergence of diverse stakeholders, creators, and artistic practices. <\/p>\n\n

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Echoes of Ice – Immersive Light Sculpture<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Building Ecosystems, Gathering Communities<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

\u201cWe identify the skills, people, spaces, and topics that can spark something tangible and initiate collaborations (\u2026) We try to maintain a detailed understanding of the ecosystem so we can address the needs of creative and cultural industries operating in the region.\u201d To support this vision, P\u00f4le Pixel has strengthened exchanges among professionals and fostered a community of practice called PRA.L.I.N.E (Lyon-Based Experimental Digital Innovation Artistic Practices). It was recently designated as a regional hub for artistic creation<\/a> in digital environments. \u201cIn the Auvergne\u2013Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes region, we are working to structure a network of cultural, technical, artistic, and scientific stakeholders serving digital creation,\u201d Grugier adds. Like P\u00f4le Pixel, <\/a>now act as catalysts for artistic dynamics and are, in practice, at the very heart of how digital artworks are produced. <\/p>\n\n

Driven by a broader trend toward specialization\u2014visible in fields such as virtual production<\/a> and motion capture\u2014this ecosystem-building logic can be found across many territories. A case in point is Studio44 Mocaplab<\/a> in Switzerland, founded by choreographer Gilles Jobin.\u201cWe are building both a hub of expertise and a network at the same time. In our field of digital live performance and choreography, practitioners are scattered around the world and can be difficult to identify. Digital choreography represents new territory for dance\u2014we are one of the last art forms to be digitized.\u201dThis exploration is \u201cfascinating,\u201d Jobin explains, but requires the development of entirely new tools and expertise. To capture movement as precisely as possible, technology plays a central role. Initially developed to serve his own company before opening to other artists, the studio is equipped with 42 infrared cameras for motion capture, suits embedded with markers, and software described as \u201crecent, fast, and precise.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

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Studio44 Mocaplab – Gilles Jobin <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Human Support at the Core <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

While the technology is cutting-edge, it is artistic understanding and technical expertise that make the real difference, Jobin emphasizes. Within the company, developer Adryan Barrilliet<\/a> works full time, while performer Susana Panad\u00e9s Diaz<\/a> also serves as a movement coordinator with deep knowledge of how performers must adapt their bodies to digital capture.The company has also built a network of about fifteen experienced motion-capture dancers who can contribute to ongoing projects. \u201cWe don\u2019t just provide technology\u2014we provide know-how,\u201d Jobin explains. \u201cWe also help with project design. Our involvement enables resident artists to expand their ideas.\u201dBecause team members are themselves artists\u2014or have developed strong artistic sensitivity through collaboration\u2014they are able to understand and respond to the needs of artists in residence. \u201cWe need technologists who understand dance, who know what a performer can bring to the process.\u201d <\/em>At GRAME<\/a>, the National Center for Musical Creation in Lyon, also located in Villeurbanne, the institution\u2019s strength likewise lies in the expertise mobilized by its teams, explains General and Artistic Director Nadia Ratsimandresy. One key role is that of the RIM\u2014R\u00e9alisateur Informatique Musicale\u2014a professional who bridges technical, artistic, and research dimensions while understanding artists\u2019 expectations.\u201cIt\u2019s essentially a sound engineer plus-plus,\u201d she summarizes. The goal is to support artists whose projects align with GRAME\u2019s mission\u2014engaged, experimental, open, and collaborative\u2014regardless of their technical knowledge. \u201cIt\u2019s a very open creative environment. If an artist has an idea or an intuition, we explore together what is needed to make the work exist.\u201dThe RIM then develops the necessary tools and transfers them to the artist, enabling independent use. This tailored support comes at a cost: GRAME covers the RIM\u2019s working time, accommodation, and meals. GRAME also collaborates with researchers onsite, jointly affiliated with INSA and INRIA, specializing in sound-related technologies. These researchers developed FAUST<\/a>, an open-source programming language dedicated to sound synthesis and processing, now widely used in GRAME projects and tools. <\/p>\n\n

Adapting Production Processes <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

These customized forms of support are particularly suited to a sector where projects rarely fit neatly into traditional cultural policy frameworks. This is the case at Saint-Ex<\/a> in Reims, a space dedicated to digital practices and cultures. For more than ten years, this third-place venue has supported professionals and artists working in digital environments.Its teams foster creation, research, and professional development, notably through the Fluxus<\/a> artistic incubator. \u201cThe very long timelines involved in digital creation don\u2019t fit existing formats and programs typically found in more traditional venues,\u201d explains G\u00e9raldine Taillandier. \u201cWhen we support artists, we often see that they feel lost when it comes to navigating available resources.\u201d In more traditional performing arts venues, co-production systems are well established, she notes. In digital creation, however, such networking and collective working models remain less common. \u201cThat makes connection-building all the more important.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

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Les Ateliers \u00c9clair\u00e9s<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

At Saint-Ex, Taillandier works through open calls while remaining flexible about formats. \u201cWe have multiple entry points. Artists can receive support in the fablab for production tools, or we can provide spaces for creation and rehearsal.\u201d This flexibility makes it possible to support projects even in the absence of dedicated residencies or production funding.\u201cFor organizations without funding tied to grant programs, it\u2019s essential to rely on their communities, internal expertise, and production resources,\u201d adds No\u00e9 Milesi, director of the cultural third-place venue Les Ateliers \u00c9clair\u00e9s<\/a> in Strasbourg. \u201cWe have spaces, tools, talented residents, and a network\u2014that\u2019s what we connect and integrate into our community.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

Accessibility and Cultural Rights<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

Accessibility, inherited from maker culture, is another core principle shared by these production spaces. \u201cThe goal is to make digital tools accessible to everyone,\u201d Taillandier argues. \u201cArtistic entry points allow us to mediate and create encounters between professional and amateur practices.\u201dThis reflects what Nadia Ratsimandresy describes as cultural rights, the backbone of her strategic vision at GRAME: \u201cIt\u2019s the right to participate, to create, to express oneself (\u2026) It\u2019s a strong strategic and political choice to provide access to these professions and these skills. \u201d <\/p>\n\n

Elsa Ferreira <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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