Local action for our community La Nouvelle supports Marseille

La Nouvelle supports Marseille

All the employees of La Nouvelle are united in their love for Marseille. That is why, in line with our values of solidarity, we are supporting a number of local voluntary organisations. After supporting the Auberge Marseillaise, an organisation devoted to helping out women in difficulty since 2021, we extended our aid in 2022 to the Marseille Mosaïque project

Marseille Mosaïque

Imagined by the artist and art therapist Paola Cervoni, founder of the organisation Viv'Arthe, Marseille Mosaïque is an artistic and community project that has involved applying mosaics over several metres of the longest bench in the world located on corniche Kennedy, in Marseille.

Paola got the idea upon her return from Spain, where she worked as a teacher: “In 2007, as I was grabbing lunch on one of the sections of the concrete bench on the Corniche, I had an epiphany moment! Under the influence of Antoni Gaudí's work at Park Güell in Barcelona, I saw the bench in colour. I then had to struggle for several years to make that vision a reality.” 

After extensive negotiations with the city, the first mosaics were laid in 2015. The volunteer workers were primary school children with whom Paola imagined the drawings of the mosaics before bringing them into their making. These early volunteers were later joined by people with disabilities as well as young people from disadvantaged neighbourhoods. 

A collaborative work

Accompanied by Joëlle Le Touze, a developer of impactful projects who fell in love with the Marseille Mosaïque idea, Paola Cervoni recently chose to call on committed brands in order to be able to hire workers and perpetuate the work of the organisation. This is how our team joined the adventure by cladding, in its turn, one of the sections of the bench. Together, we imagined a mermaid accompanied by the words “feminine”, “natural” and “free”, to reflect the identity of La Nouvelle. Each of us then took part in different workshops to bring the mosaic to life. 

The bench was installed and inaugurated on 4 March 2023 in the presence of Paola Cervoni and the entire team. We are proud to have had the opportunity to contribute to this collective work, symbol of the diversity of Marseille, and to support the Viv'Arthe organisation, which is now looking to express itself everywhere in the city through its frescoes.

If you come across our bench during a walk on the Corniche, please share your most beautiful pictures with the #LaNouvelleCrew!

Learn more about the Auberge Marseillaise here and about Marseille Mosaïque here.