Paris: Maison des cultures urbaines to open at La Villette in 2025

Published by Philippine de Sortiraparis · Photos by Margot de Sortiraparis · Published on March 19, 2025 at 11:43 a.m.
The French Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, announced on Tuesday the creation of "Freestyle Villette - Maison des cultures urbaines", a 1,000 m² space dedicated to hip-hop and urban cultures. Located in the fully renovated former Pavillon Villette, the venue will open its doors in autumn 2025, in the 19th arrondissement of Paris.

At the presentation of the project,"Freestyle Villette - Maison des cultures urbaines", Rachida Dati stressed the importance of giving national and institutional recognition to urban cultures, which have been influencing society and young people for over 40 years. This project marks a turning point: " Urban cultures finally have a right of the soil at the Ministry of Culture", declared the Minister according to Le Parisien. The venue will not be limited to hip-hop, but will also feature the clubbing and electronic music scene, as well as sports.

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Management of the Maison des cultures urbaines has been entrusted to Bianca Li, a Spanish dancer and choreographer, currently President of the Établissement public du parc de la Villette. A call for projects will be launched in May to enable players in these disciplines to submit proposals.

The announcement of this initiative was made in the presence of emblematic figures from the urban scene: the MezelFreten company gave a hip-hop dance demonstration, DJ Jennifer Cardini was present, as were contemporary artist JR and specialist journalist Juliette Fiévet.

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The project also received broad political support. Member of Parliament Sabrina Sebaihi (Écologiste et Social) insisted on the importance of meeting grassroots expectations, while her colleague Steevy Gustave, a former hip-hop dancer, stressed that "hip-hop is a culture of living together", according to a source in Le Parisien .

While the project is welcomed, it does not erase certain tensions with the City of Paris, which points out that a space dedicated to hip-hop already exists: the cultural center La Place, under the Canopée des Halles. This announcement comes just a few days after the city voted 100,000 euros in aid to hip-hop players.

With Freestyle Villette, the French Ministry of Culture intends to give these disciplines a national dimension. A project which, by 2025, could well redefine the place of urban cultures in Paris.

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