Passerelles

For more than 15 years, Passerelles, the department of cultural initiatives of the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, has worked towards the inclusion of a wide range of audiences in the life of the Festival and helped to establish the right of all individuals to attend opera performances. Through an ongoing and lasting collaboration with its partners, Passerelles offers numerous outreach, awareness-raising and amateur artistic activities connected to the region. It engages throughout the year with more than 5,300 children, teenagers and adults across the entire region (37 towns in the Région Sud-PACA) and in over 188 community, educational, health and social organisations.

Passerelles’s initiatives reach all areas of the Sud-PACA region.
In 2024, Passerelles is working with 188 partner organisations located in 37 different towns and municipalities.

OPERA AWARENESS

Passerelles' awareness-raising initiatives are year-long programmes tailored to all audiences, according to timelines specific to each partner. They include artistic and creative workshops, meetings with technical teams, musical events, and discussions with artists from the Festival.

Each programme begins with partner training in December and is supported by online resources and educational materials that allow for a deeper exploration and understanding of the works scheduled for the Festival.

— Introductory Course: this course, intended for young audiences and families, introduces the participants to the many facets of the opera genre (e.g., voice, instruments, sets and costumes) in a creative way.

— Discovering-opera Course: this course is designed to prepare young and adult audiences to attend a performance of a Festival production under the best possible conditions, by providing them with the necessary tools to understand and appreciate the work.

— Technical-professions Course: tailored to local organisations for professional integration and support and to programmes for specifical vocational training, this course is built around a series of meetings between the Festival’s technical teams and participants (secondary and vocational school students, and adults looking to (re-)enter the job market), who wish to learn about various skills and professions in the performing arts.

At the end of these courses, the participants are invited to an encounter with opera voices and the performing arts

AMATEUR ARTISTIC PRACTICE

Through creative participatory projects, Passerelles generates opportunities for professional and amateur artists of all levels and ages. These multicultural and intergenerational projects, which are integrated into the Festival programme, celebrate collective work and co-creation, and foster solidarity and inclusion.

LIVE PERFORMANCES FOR ALL AUDIENCES

For several years, Passerelles has supported the emergence of small interactive and educational artistic forms. Presented at the end of the introductory programmes, these performances provide a first, immersive experience of opera, and are scheduled as part of the free Aix en Juin event.