Atelier LUMA LUMA

Atelier LUMA’s activities use local resources and know-how to respond to social, economic, ecological, and cultural challenges.

We start by building networks of multidisciplinary partners and identifying issues together. Then, we collaborate to develop processes, protocols, and production and knowledge sharing systems. Our projects are implemented locally, and can be replicated in other contexts and regions.

Atelier LUMA is a program of LUMA Arles. It has been based in the Parc des Ateliers in Arles since 2017, and is deeply connected to its geographic and cultural environment: the Camargue region, the Alpilles mountains, and the Crau plains.

This bioregion is home to rich natural resources and many kinds of know-how, which we identify, promote, and mobilize. For our team and collaborators, inspiration for locally rooted projects comes from sources as varied as rice cultivation, mineral quarries, salt marshes, sheep farming, and traditional textiles and ceramics.

“Atelier LUMA investigates the many layers of the bioregion. We gather loose historical, cultural, environmental, social, economical elements and weave them together into potential projects.” —Jan Boelen, artistic director of Atelier LUMA

Our lab is equipped for research, production, and sharing knowledge. It hosts a multidisciplinary network of designers, artists, biologists, engineers, farmers, philosophers, sociologists, and activists, who work alongside each other to face the challenges of our local area’s transition. We view each project as one building block in a more virtuous system.

Alongside the members of its ecosystem, Atelier LUMA is committed to balancing social and economic development. We explore possible scenarios for transforming consumer cultures and existing systems of production. As a locally focused experimental lab, Atelier LUMA also participates in knowledge sharing networks and in initiatives around the world.