Dijon: Reviving the Jardin de l'Arquebuse

The well-known institution for the people of Dijon is changing its contacts and improving its alignment with the International City of Gastronomy and Wine as part of the Dijon Food Transition project. First Deputy Mayor, Natalie Koenders, provided the new directions on Thursday, March 24.

The cultural and scientific facility in Boulevard Jehan de Marville changed its name and changed its communication. Museum, botanical garden, planetarium, exhibition space… A place in the Jardin de l’Arquebuse to evoke all these activities.

On Thursday, March 24, 2022, Natalie Koenders (PS), First Vice Mayor of Dijon commissioned public calm but also the ecological transition, Agnès Fougeron, Municipal Equipment Manager since 2019, presented the issues related to this change of communication.

A priority for the city of Dijon

Natalie Koenders points out that “these are the topics that really represent priorities within the city, we want to make Dijon an environmental standard at a national or even international level; we have reached the final stage in the European Green Capital competition.”

As part of the mandate that began in June 2020, the mayor of Dijon entrusted the first deputy with energy transformation, biodiversity conservation and issues related to climate change.

Natalie Koenders is assisted by Patrice Chateau (independent ecologist), the municipal councilor in charge of biodiversity and food, and Marin Loveci (Modem), the deputy mayor in charge of parks, buildings and gardens. Note that the capital-elect, Philippe Lemanceau (PS) is responsible for the transportation of food and the mass catering.

“He is a teacher for all those interested in nature”

The initiative for a change in communication comes from previous Jardin des Sciences teams that wanted to improve readability for Dijon people. The proposal joined the objectives of the city of Dijon which considered the implications of the opening of the cultural center of the Cité international de la Gastronomie et du Vin.

Natalie Koenders notes that “the designation of the Jardin de l’Arquebuse was already in use by all Dijonnaises and Dijonnais,” “a landmark for all those interested in nature.” The goal is “to make it a true haven of peace, rustic, with, at the same time, all the science, all the research and access to gastronomy and wine.”

“The latest and most innovative scientific questions”

According to the City of Dijon, the space to disseminate, decipher and share the natural sciences is part of “the latest and most innovative scientific questions, while providing the general public with a very vital reading of the challenges of environmental transformation today and in the future”.

The Jardin de l’Arquebuse adopts a new motto: “Inherently Curious”. The new visual identity was created by Temps Réel Agency; I found three illustrative images in one image to “summarize the challenges of local biodiversity in pictures”.

Thus we find the planetarium symbolized by a planet and its rings, the museum with a stylized paw and the botanical garden with a leaf. Everyone also thinks of a bee that represents biodiversity. “We are in modern forms,” said Agnes Fougeron.

Contact the city of gastronomy

The link with the Cité de la Gastronomie is the physical, on one side, the Stoa-designed Corten steel pedestrian bridge, which connects the park with Dijon-Ville station, and on the other, the rehabilitation of the rue du Jardin-des-Plantes as a meeting area.

The affinity is also reflected in the content presented to the public in the Jardin de l’Arquebuse. Thus, in the park, a course on “cultivated biodiversity” and “plant foods” will preserve a new portion of grapes and vines since then, in the network of French cities highlighting the hearty meal of the French as shown by UNESCO in 2010, The city of Dijon is developing a wine theme.

Exhibition at the Musée de l’Homme Edited by Dijon Bands

The 2022 temporary exhibition at the Jardin de l’Arquebuse will extend the concept of gastronomy to food. It’s “Delicious! I Eat So I Am”, an exhibition prepared by the Musée de l’Homme in 2019 in order to “discover the biological, cultural and environmental aspects of our diet”.

The presentation and content have been adapted to the Dijon context by the teams of Jardin de l’Arquebuse along with those at the Cité de la Gastronomie Cultural Centre.

“The goal is to be consistent with all the projects implemented by the city and metropolis,” notes Natalie Koenders, referring to the 2030 Sustainable Food Project for the regional capital.

From April 2 to December 31, 2022, audiences will discover an anthropological reading of food, a presentation on the environmental consequences of food production, as well as an insight into the benefits of plant proteins.

Jean-Christophe Tardefon