Le Wonder Transforms Derelict Paris Industrial Site Into Artist Hub

(MENAFN- USA Art News) The Paris-based artist collective Le Wonder has transformed a 6,000-square-meter former industrial garage in Bobigny into a thriving multipurpose facility for artists. This initiative, founded by artist Nelson Pernisco, offers an alternative model to the typical gentrification cycle that often displaces artists from urban areas.

After more than a decade and several relocations, Le Wonder's current site accommodates approximately 70 artists, providing studios, extensive production capabilities from ceramics to a foundry, and storage. The facility also features workshops and public programming. The collective plans to expand, with part of its storage facilities eventually housing works from Parisian museum collections.

Pernisco's involvement with artist squats began while he was in art school in Paris, where he found himself drawn to the commitment and creative freedom he observed in an underground squat.“The people were really committed, but they were not really making art. They were cleaning the space so they could welcome more projects,” Pernisco recalled.“I felt like this commitment to the broom was closer to me than the commitment of the other art school students.”

The collective's journey started in 2012 with Point G, a smaller squat near the Canal de l'Ourcq in the 19th arrondissement, which operated for about a year. They then moved to the former Wonder battery factory, a vast, abandoned industrial complex near the Saint-Ouen flea market. Pernisco described the polluted, neglected site, where it would take about 10 minutes to walk from the entrance to their occupied building, as“just perfect” for artists. By 2016, this complex hosted around 60 artists, with 43 private studios, shared workshops, music facilities, and spaces for performances and exhibitions. The collective repaired the building, replacing 86 windows, and opened other structures, bringing new life to the surrounding neighborhood during a three-and-a-half-year arrangement that began as six months and was extended in three-month increments.

As the Saint-Ouen building faced demolition, Le Wonder, under Pernisco's leadership, sought a more formal structure and secured negotiations directly with a real estate company. This led to their occupation of the Liebert building in Bagnolet, a former office building that became a multidisciplinary hub with studios, music facilities, a tattoo studio, a restaurant, and artist housing. Initially paying roughly €60,000 annually, the collective later secured a reduction. Their programming expanded, attracting audiences of over 2,000 people on some evenings and drawing media attention and research interest, despite some criticism related to gentrification.

The collective remained in Bagnolet until 2019 before moving to a former industrial property near La Défense, owned by Bouygues Immobilier, one of France's largest real estate companies. Pernisco realized that developers valued the“storytelling” aspect of associating with artists and culture for marketing properties more than tax advantages or lower security costs.“What I learned from this experience is that they were looking for storytelling,” he explained.“And as artists, it's very easy to create content.” However, these arrangements proved temporary, driven by corporate financial priorities, forcing the artists to relocate again. Undeterred, Le Wonder persisted in finding new spaces.

Source: Observer Arts

MENAFN23102026005694012507ID1111857945