Freestyle Villette, a platform to welcome initiatives from across all of France

Envisioned as a platform to welcome initiatives from across all of France, Freestyle Villette is based in a dedicated space, the former Pavillon Villette, and its programming takes place across the park throughout the year.

Public rassemblé devant Freestyle Villette lors de la journée d’ouverture, avec des spectateurs assistant à des performances artistiques.

Programming

A major force in French popular cultures for more than 40 years, La Villette seeks to provide greater recognition to an entirely new generation of artists through this new project. As a site for programming, creation, and transmission, this centre is open to all aesthetic trends in new popular and alternative cultures, including the hip-hop, rap, and clubbing scenes. This site gives artists access to a fully equipped stage (in terms of lights, sound, and video) and working spaces.

A call for projects was issued in 2025 for actors in the fields of popular cultures, from those engaged in programming for the general public to those fostering the transmission and exchange of knowledge among artists and professionals. More than 200 projects were submitted, and the jury met to select some twenty organisations and artists who will be given carte blanche to perform at Freestyle Villette during the first half of 2026.

Deux DJ aux platines, face au public, lors d’une soirée à Freestyle Villette.

A centre open to all forms of popular culture

Against the backdrop of the growth of hip-hop in France over the last 40+ years, Freestyle Villette seeks greater recognition for the disciplines and aesthetics that have emerged from this movement across the country and to support a new generation of artists.

To accomplish this, Freestyle Villette, a 1,000 m² renovated building in the Parc de la Villette, located in the nineteenth arrondissement of Paris, began to host cultural and performance programming in October 2025 in order to promote all the practices of these new cultures, from dance to music, street art, and urban sports.