On December 6 and 7, 2024, 104factory opened its doors for the 8th consecutive year of the Open Factory, North of Paris (France). A rare opportunity to meet the various companies – creative and cultural with an ecological and societal impact – selected and supported within the CENTQUATRE – PARIS, an infinite place of art, culture and innovation.
Cover : Open Factory #8 📸 Quentin Chevrier
Two days, free of charge, open to all, in the heart of Paris. A time to discover and test innovations in music, books, digital arts, inclusion and ecology. This annual event also highlights the relationship of trust between the hosted companies and 104factory. A look back in words and pictures at these innovations – taking the form of immersive experiences, applications and online platforms – and our discussion with Marialya Bestougeff, Director of Innovation at CENTQUATRE.
Trust and complementarity, cardinal values at the heart of 104factory
The promise of the Open Factory, “to open its doors, one of the few spaces in the CENTQUATRE that is closed, reserved for the people who work there all year round” explains Marialya Bestougeff, innovation director. Two days to showcase all this creative energy.
104factory is both a business incubator and an organization for incubated companies. A rich program was launched in 2013 with a clear ambition: to support, host, facilitate and connect the cultural and creative ecosystem at the heart of a unique place of art, culture and innovation. Each year, around twenty companies are selected and supported by professionals sharing their business expertise.
In a spirit of openness and constant emulation, calls for applications are issued approximately three times a year.
An essential point of 104factory: “We want a good synergy, a good understanding between the entrepreneurs; we must avoid the feeling of having competitors next to them,” adds the innovation director interviewed. With this fear removed, mutual aid is also easier to establish and nurture.
Companies, young organizations or associations can apply, provided that your project is innovative. The definition of innovation is flexible. According to Marialya Bestougeff, it can be “technological or of use”. Hacking therefore has its place in an institution labeled FPI. Incubated entrepreneurs benefit from moments of exchange with their peers.
The ambition of 104factory : collaborate and experiment to grow and prosper
When the application files catch the attention of the dozen or so members of the jury (including some former supported companies), the young companies enter a process that will lead to experimentation. Intensive support with a counterpart: giving oneself the means to prototype in order to test one’s project on a real audience. Marialya Bestougeff is enthusiastic about this particular feature of the 104factory incubator: “experimenting outside the bubble, benefiting from feedback from professionals but also from the general public in order to make better progress on your project”. This iterative work also allows you to grow your network of prospects and customers.
Constantly renewing oneself to better support innovation
The CENTQUATRE’s DNA is one of openness and the circulation of culture, art and societal questions. 104factory is a logical part of this approach. Every opportunity that brings value to the supported companies can be useful in giving them visibility. Whether it’s an external event, such as Museum Connections, or an internal one, Marialya Bestougeff is on the lookout for “opportunities to create encounters”.
The 104factory team “seeks to make the daily life of incubated companies easier. They don’t have to worry about logistical issues. The whole team works towards this. We are considering having a support system tailored to their real needs. Whether it is a question of enlightening the company on business issues or on legal, tax or communication issues, many speakers or organizations such as the Banque de France are invited to share useful information or suggest exploring other, lesser-known sources of funding.
When your credo is innovation, “you have to constantly renew the programs. We adapt the workshops according to the priorities of the selected companies,” emphasizes Mr. Bestougeff, and continues, ‘We are fortunate to have many visits from foreign delegations, thanks in particular to our cultural engineering activities. Opportunities are thus created.’
To illustrate this success, the director of innovation mentions Magique (Magic), a creation and innovation studio exploring smell in all its forms. While they were being supported at 104factory, they had the opportunity to meet the teams from the Arab World Institute. This was the spark that enabled Magique to work on the immersive devices for the Parfums d’Orient exhibition presented at the IMA.
What does innovation represent within 104factory ?
When asked about the representation of innovation in the cultural and creative industry, Marialya Bestougeff replies without too much surprise that “when we talk about innovation in culture, it is often driven by technological aspects”, sometimes to the extent that it is solely focused on tools. “We talk about metaverse, immersive, artificial intelligence. All of these are ultimately just mediums, tools, and that is very interesting in itself. Nevertheless, what will take precedence is the way the tool is used, what is done with it; the story it brings to life; the additional service it offers (…). What interests us is innovation through use and not simply through technology,” insists Mr. Bestougeff.
A large number of players can therefore have their place within 104factory, as long as these specifications are met. But that’s not all.
Innovation no longer comes without its corollary of responsibility.
A collective awareness of social and environmental responsibility, as well as the increase in the number of projects submitted, has led 104factory to develop the Culture Impact program.
Innovation leads to transitions. They are just as important in the cultural sector as elsewhere. We are talking about digital transformation, ecological transition, and eco-conditionality of aid, whether in the audiovisual or immersive sector. These are major issues of which every player must be aware. Implementation can be more complex. The director of innovation is aware of this difficulty: “it is absolutely necessary to support these structures that innovate and help us to progress in these fields too”.
Marialya Bestougeff mentions Arviva, a structure that brings together those involved in the living and sustainable arts. Their motto is “No live performance on a dead planet”. The promise is clear. Their commitment is just as clear: the members of the association are committed to changing their practices in order to change their models. “We can see that these subjects of innovation therefore have a lot to do with the organization of work,” adds the director, “in our creative and cultural sector, many organizations have synergies to work on with the actors of the social and solidarity economy.”. From experience, 104factory has found that this porosity can lead to discussions about project leaders, particularly their mode of governance. For example, some have chosen the SCOP (cooperative and participatory society) model to develop after going through 104factory.
The 104factory team therefore remains on the lookout for new legal structures or business models. Institutional support also involves the transmission of this information, which the supported teams cannot necessarily do themselves due to lack of time, energy or simply knowledge of where to find information. “Sometimes you have to know how to recognize your limits, and that’s also what the incubation experience is for. Understanding where to put your energy and knowing when to find partners. Knowing how to choose them too,” explains Marialya Bestougeff.
Incubation: a top-down model at 104factory ?
The director of innovation is clear: ‘our teams also learn a lot from the people they support’. ‘We are also developing projects around immersion’. As for many economic players, Covid has been a lever for experimentation. Just after Covid, with the two editions of Venice VR Expanded. After VR to Go with the Phi center, educational programs were developed in collaboration with Diversion Cinéma, alumni of 104factory.
104factory collaborates with numerous schools, particularly within the framework of a program with the Gobelins school of animation, or with mediation students at the University of Paris 8. “The idea is to create synergies between students and incubated entrepreneurs.” Marialya Bestougeff’s ambition is to combine all these energies and enable them to continue beyond the incubation period.
Does the profile of entrepreneurs applying to 104factory change over the years?
The innovation director seems to be saying ‘yes and no’. However, one constant runs through all the applications, which is that innovation is at the service of creation. Either it gives rise to it, or it provides access to it, or it allows it to be preserved and kept alive.
The projects are varied: from books and architecture to the poetic exploration of living things and access to theater in an easy-to-read and understand format. The profiles of the project leaders are just as varied.
Marialya mentions The Analog Club, a community of analog photographers. Their ambition is to develop in order to enable the resale of analog cameras. Ultimately, they have contributed, at their level, to reviving the entire industry. Repairing cameras and lenses, finding film, opening a laboratory to make prints, reconditioning equipment, exhibiting virtually or in real life. There are also workshops to rediscover the use of analog photography. “Innovation is also knowing how to look behind you and say to yourself, ‘this is interesting’”, Marialya whispers to us before pausing the conversation for a moment with “it’s a different relationship to time and their project is very cool”.
Time, sustainability, responsibility: these are concepts shared by the supported organizations. The question of a product’s life cycle is an issue in the digital sector in general and for immersive works in particular. How can reuse be enabled? Can resources be pooled? These are questions that are also at the heart of the Plinth Plinth platform, which pools scenography elements for companies and cultural institutions.
“We are looking for different, unique projects,” says Marialya Bestougeff, always with this sense of responsibility, like Polaire Studios. Their environmental ambition? To produce video content with the least possible impact. On the societal side? To work on messages with committed actors. Video is a very powerful medium that changes the imagination and allows us to inform and communicate. Their methodology for trying to limit the impact on the climate is to define new approaches, particularly in the post-production phase.
And what about diversity ?
“We strongly believe in all forms of inclusion and diversity,” enthuses Marialya Bestougeff before adding that innovation is all the richer when it is driven ‘by diverse teams from different backgrounds and environments’. Particular attention is therefore paid to the mix of skills and personalities and to the development of female entrepreneurship.
The issue of accessibility is also addressed. FALC en scène, although based on an associative and not strictly entrepreneurial model, is supported by 104factory. This openness to other types of structures also makes it possible to broaden the range of possibilities as well as the audiences reached. Creation is at the heart of the CENTQUATRE’s work, and it takes a lot to make it accessible to as many people as possible. The presence of FALC en scène, whose project leaders are people with disabilities or other organizations of this kind, is undoubtedly an opportunity for all entrepreneurs to ask themselves questions and find out where they themselves stand in terms of accessibility in their project.
104factory, more than just support, a territorial or even international network
Over the years, links have been strengthened with other cultural incubators in the country. Major innovation events are additional opportunities to share ideas and best practices for these project support and development professionals. When we think of innovation, the association with technology is easily made, creative and cultural institutions must be made more visible and the players in the sector with them.
Mobility is therefore a key factor. Partnerships already exist, and others are being created with Quebec, Tunisia, Germany and Belgium. The creative expeditions are launched!
Call for applications: 104factory is recruiting its next teams! Applications are open until March 10, 2025. You can find all the practical information on the 104factory website.
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