How to create an oasis in the city? Local residents commissioned an artwork to reclaim a disused public space, transforming it into a community venue for connection and interaction.
This project, initiated by residents of La Benauge neighbourhood, was born from a strong desire to come together as neighbours and share convivial moments during a period of extreme heat. Their ambition is to transform a patch of wild land at the foot of their building into a garden for everyone to enjoy.
With this initiative, the commissioners hope to reconnect with one another, strengthen social ties between neighbours, across generations, cultures and ways of living, and restore a sense of connection with nature in the city. The commission aspires to reveal how an artwork can help us rediscover the living world in our urban environment, nurturing a spirit of togetherness and a shared sense of environmental responsibility.
The artist–designer duo of Vincent Bécheau and Marie-Laure Bourgeois was selected to realise this commission. Attentive to the role of sculpture in the city and to environmental responsibility, while also embracing social and political dimensions, they proposed the project Le Jardin de l’Esperluette. At its heart is a functional artwork — a stone table in the shape of an ampersand — designed as both furniture and symbol, a place for preparing and sharing meals created from the produce grown in the edible garden.
