Presentation

Resolutely multidisciplinary, La Bâtie-Festival de Genève brings together music, dance, theatre, circus and performance to offer a rich and demanding panorama of the contemporary scene that is both accessible and complex. Since its creation half a century ago, the festival has demonstrated its ability to evolve, renewing its missions, aesthetic orientations, partners and audiences. Each edition takes place in more than twenty venues in the Geneva metropolitan area, neighbouring France and the canton of Vaud: theatres, concert halls, clubs, but also museums, parks and other public spaces make up the geography of the festival.

The word ‘festival’ resonates with a polyphony of meanings and connotations: ideal, summer, feast, jovial, vista, vital, future, folly, fiesta, convivial, intense, reunion... A cultural ritual rooted in city life, La Bâtie has established itself as the unmissable event of the Geneva season (late August-early September). A multiplier of artistic and relational experiences, the event allows visitors to familiarise themselves with the big names on the international scene, discover the local and regional talents of tomorrow, experience unprecedented aesthetic shocks, and pluralise their views of the world.

La Bâtie highlights and puts into perspective the emancipatory transformations at work in today's diverse expressions. The festival occupies a watchtower position, like La Bâtie-Meillé, a fortified castle built in the Middle Ages on the left bank of the Arve River, which no longer exists but gives its name to the Bois de la Bâtie forest.

History

La Bâtie-Festival de Genève was founded in 1977, in the woods of the same name, "out of a desire to provide a space for an ideology – which was also a way of life – where the avant-garde artistic movement, the political protest movement and the social movement aspiring to an unconventional, convivial lifestyle merged " (quote taken from the book published to mark the festival's 20th anniversary). It all began with a meeting organised on site in the spring of 1977, on the initiative of Marcel Robert (co-founder of the Théâtre Mobile), who invited his friends from the AMR (François Jacquet, Pierre Losio, Sandro Rossetti), the Théâtre de la Lune Rouge (Monique Décosterd, Eric Jeanmonod) and the Action 16 cinema group (Philippe Berthet, Bertrand Theubet). Also present were a few independents, including architect Roger Loponte, musician and actor Pierre Maulini, and technical manager Jean-Luc Arni. The original spirit of the Festival du Bois de la Bâtie was to offer free concerts and shows to the public by bringing together local artistic teams for a few days in June.

This collective and spontaneous dynamic took the form of a committee which, for ten years, programmed and managed the festival with a general coordinator, François Jacquet. The festival was an immediate success with the public and gradually transformed, growing in size and extending to one week, then two. Moved to September in 1983 (the year it left the Bois de la Bâtie), the festival became the cultural event of the autumn and began its relocation to the city centre. The organisers' aim was to present shows from non-institutional culture in urban venues and give them a real place at the heart of the city.

Initially, the festival took place in venues managed by the City of Geneva, community centres, independent cinemas, parks and places not normally used for artistic activities. Then, the cultural landscape of Geneva began to change: performance venues multiplied and several stages dedicated to independent artists emerged, including the Maison des Arts du Grütli (opened in 1989), L'Usine (1989), Théâtre du Loup (1993), etc., which naturally became partners of the festival. The network of festival venues was not limited to the City of Geneva alone. In 1992, La Bâtie opened up to cross-border and inter-municipal collaborations by investing in atypical venues and cultural centres created in Geneva's municipalities (Théâtre Forum Meyrin, Chat Noir in Carouge, Halle Weetamix in Vernier, Villa Bernasconi in Lancy and Espace Vélodrome in Plan-les-Ouates).

In 2002, the canton and city of Geneva recognised the relevance of the activities carried out by La Bâtie over many years and deemed it necessary to support its existence and development. A subsidy agreement confirmed its artistic autonomy, within the framework of delegated management, while specifying its missions and activities. Continuing its development and maturation process, the association became a foundation in 2010. This milestone marked a major transition in the history of the festival, breaking with its past as an association.

In 2026, we will celebrate the fiftieth edition of La Bâtie. Thanks to the momentum generated by all those who have contributed to the development of this multidisciplinary event, which has become one of the most important in Switzerland, the festival now has a bright future ahead of it!

Artists booked at La Bâtie since 2008
Dance : Jakob & Pieter Ampe, Daniel Abreu, Cindy Van Acker, Simone Aughterlony & Phil Hayes, Franck Beaubois, Jérôme Bel & Theater Hora, Marco Berrettini, Hélène Blackburn, Maya Bösch, Guilherme Botelho, Alain Buffard, Gaspard Buma, Campo, Boris Charmatz, Boyzie Cekwana, Steven Cohen, De Maan, Anne Delahaye & Nicolas Leresche, Delgado Fuchs, Pierre Droulers, Olivier Dubois, Marcelo Evelin, Matija Ferlin, Jean-Claude Gallotta, Miguel Gutierrez, Thomas Hauert, Marie-Caroline Hominal, Hotel Pro Forma, Emmanuelle Huynh, Foofwa d'Imobilité, YoungSoon Cho Jaquet, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Patricia Kuypers, Benoît Lachambre, Clément Layes, La Ribot, La Ribot, Juan Domínguez & Juan Loriente, Thomas Lebrun, Faustin Linyekula, Liquid Loft, Àngels Margarit, Nasser Martin-Gousset, Rudi van der Merwe, Mathilde Monnier, Needcompany, Nevski Prospekt, Michèle Noiret, Selma & Sofiane Ouissi, Ovaal, Alain Platel, Peeping Tom, Pierre Rigal, Philippe Saire, Tino Sehgal, Nicole Seiler, Noé Soulier, Meg Stuart, Sud Sud, Wayn Traub, Hiroaki Umeda, Gisèle Vienne, Cie Virevolte, Laurence Yadi & Nicolas Cantillon, Perrine Valli, Sasha Waltz

Music : Anna Aaron, Absinthe Music’s Cinematic Dreams, Adieu Gary Cooper, The Amplifetes, The Animen, Apparatschik, Lail Arad, Argent Sale, Steve Arguelles Quartet, John Armleder, Au Palais, Daniel Avery, Carl Barât, William Basinski & l'OCG, Bélo, Best of Ciné-Concert, Bang Bang, Baptiste & Elisa, Beach Fossils, bEEdEEgEE, Bedroom Community Night (Valgueir Sigursson, Paul Corley, Nadia Sirota, Liam Byrne) Biru, Blonde Redhead, Blouse, Bonga, Boodaman, Sonic Boom & Sinner DC, Rodolphe Burger, Cascadeur, Brice Catherin, Chassol, Christine, Edwyn Collins, Crowdpleaser, Cursor Miner, Cyril (Frères Souchet), Maxence Cyrin, Fiona Daniel, Dear Deër, Dean & Britta, Death on the Balcony, Rudy Decelière & Vincent Hänni, Philippe Decrauzat & Alan Licht, Brian Degraw, Demdike Stare, Dirtymadsound, Double Agent 7, Olivier Ducret, Dj Elephant Power, Ensemble Contrechamps, Ensemble Franui, Jessie Evans, F.M., Fanga, Faust, Fauve, Lugano Fell & Yann Gourdon, Féloche, Fennesz & Lillevan, Heike Fiedler, Filewile, Arnaud Fleurent-Didier, French Cowboy, Friendly Fires, Fudge Fingas, Gag Vogt, Gangpol & Mit, Andrès Garcìa & The Ghost, Christian Garcia, The Genevan Heathen, Get The Blessing, Gong Gong, Grand Atlas Mondial, Gwenno, Heidi Happy, Hark!, Hausfrauen, Hell’s Kitchen, The Hiiters, The Honshu Wolves, Hurlak, Paco Ibáñez, Imaz’elia, Imperial Tiger Orchestra & Hamelmal Abaté, Jack is Dead & son orchestre iranien, Phoebe Jean & The Air Force, Jerrycan, Junip, Kabbalah, Miles Kane, Kap Bambino, Kassette, Adam Kesher, Koch-Schütz-Studer & The Young Gods, Komaton, Koumekiam, La Cherga, Lamb, Larytta, James Lavelle, Cate Le Bon, Leo, Loccomotion, Lole, Love Motel, Lulúxpo, Luz, Mandrax, Mami Chan & Norman Bambi, Maroc Urbain, Martin Matalon, Syd Matters, Michelangelo Trio, Midnight Juggernauts, Mimetic & Sigmasix, Miss Li, Mix Master Mike, Connan Mockasin, Moi j'connais Records all Stars, Monoplage, Morning Star, Motor City Drum Ensemble, Mr Cheeky & The Dude, Munk, James Murphy, Neekko, Neotantrik, Sean O'Hagan, l'OCG & Radiomentale, Oha Aho, Oof, Dj Olesenski, Pierre Omer, Oneohtrix Point Never & Nate Boyce, Oram Modular, Oscar & The Wolf, Oy, Genesis P-Orridge, Planningtorock, Peter Von Poehl, Pol & Eklekto, Poney Express, Lynn Pook & Julien Clauss, Porcelain Raft, The Postmen, Amancio Prada, Quilt, Dj Ramax, Raphelson, Dj Reas X Dj Raze, Mathilde Reichler, Marco Repetto & Christine Lauterburg, Gruff Rhys, Sal P, Saycet, Schtärneföifi, Sébastien Schuller, Sei A, Sinner DC, Sivu, Slowdive, The Slow Show, Smadj, Juliana Snapper, Peter Solo, Bruno Spoerri, Dj Stiff, Sela Sue, Damo Suzuki & Robor, Verity, Tahiti 80, (TBC!), TanzTanz, Alexis Taylor, Tété, Jimi Tenor & Kabu Kabu, Tiga, Tim & Puma Mimi, Tindersticks, Tomorrow's World, Jonathan Toubin, Franz Treichler, Evelinn Trouble, Ukrainian Connections, Under Byen, Jean Claude Vannier & Band, Verveine, Veto, Villa, Fredo Viola, Andy Votel, Anthony Cédric Vuagniaux, Vvolves, Kate Wax, Warpaint, Krystle Warren, Andrew Weatherall, Emilie Weibel, WhoMadeWho, Woodkid, Y Niwl, Yellow Teeth, Zigitros, 4-5/AM-PM

Theater : Sandra Amodio, Belinda Annaloro, Jalila Baccar, Mathieu Bauer, Julie Beauvais, Berlin, Roger Bernat, Nicole Borgeat, Marie Brassard, Campo, Guy Cassiers, Romeo Castellucci, Hélène Cattin & Anna Hohler, Isabelle Chladek, Le Club des Arts, Hubert Colas, Compagnie CREW_eric joris, Collectif du Cyclone, Emma Dante, Antoine Defoort, Kris Defoort, Gérard Desarthe, Alexandre Doublet, Yan Duyvendak, Exos, Christophe Fiat, Forced Entertainment, Massimo Furlan, Rodrigo García, Omar Ghayatt, Heiner Goebbels, Halory Goerger, Gob Squad, Fabrice Gorgerat, Gérard Guillaumat, Handspring Puppet Company, Helgard Haug, Oriza Hirata, Fadhel Jaïbi, Christiane Jatahy, Wang Jianwei, Stefan Kaegi, Amir Reza Koohestani, Franck Van Laecke, Jean Lambert-wild & Stéphane Blanquet, Jan Lauwers & Needcompany, Angélica Liddell, Hervé Loichemol, Los Torreznos, Vincent Macaigne, Joël Maillard, Denis Marleau, Richard Maxwell, Karelle Ménine, John Menoud, Motus, Kornél Mundruczó, Fabrice Murgia, Nature Theater of Oklahoma, Dieudonné Niangouna, Stanislas Nordey, Markus Öhrn, Toshiki Okada, Mariano Pensotti, Marielle Pinsard, Alain Platel, Philppe Quesne, Philippe Quesne & Campo, Milo Rau, Jérôme Richer, Falk Richter, Rimini Protokoll, Dorian Rossel, Dirk Roofthooft, Éric Salama, Lina Saneh & Rabih Mroué, Scopitone & Cie, She She Pop, Skappa !, Socìetas Raffaello Sanzio, Philippe Soltermann, Pierrick Sorin, Javier Swedzky, Teatro de Ciertos Habitantes, Teatro delle Briciole, Ubus Théâtre, Marie Vayssière, André Wilms, Dominique Ziegler, Matteo Zimmermann

Posters since 1977