French Makers Are Celebrating This Weekend!
Today and through the weekend makers, innovators, and creatives of all ages will have the opportunity to show off their skills and learn new ones–not only at Maker Faire Lille, the country’s flagship event, and Maker Faire Lens (also in Northern France), but at over 100 “mini” events across France and as far away as Corsica. Since 2016, Maker Faires in France have been co-developed with Leroy Merlin. Each edition highlights innovative projects by craftspeople and connects communities to encourage cooperation. Visitors become participants, the events inviting everyone to become a maker in their turn.
Maker Faire Lille: June 13-15th
MAKER FAIRE LILLE is back (already) in June and is taking over the EURATECHNOLOGIES spaces for the first time in the heart of the Bois Blancs district of Lille on June 13, 14 and 15, 2025. It’s going to be big… and also beautiful, inspiring, innovative! Last year, the event was held in November, so its been just over 6 months of incroyable planning to deliver this weekend’s many delights.
Friday, June 13th is designated an Education Day — a time when Maker Faires focus on students and youth activation, building the next generation of makers. This free event is dedicated to school audiences, from CP to Terminale and beyond. A unique opportunity to discover the world of makers and innovation through a series of exciting activities! “We believe it is essential to help young people better understand the world in which they are growing up, to give them the keys to become actors/makers themselves and to make them aware that living in the world is everyone’s responsibility and that we can all be actors by becoming makers.” On the program:
- Interactive stands to discover inspiring projects
- Creative workshops to learn while having fun
- Conferences led by experts
A day not to be missed to stimulate curiosity, develop new skills and inspire vocations!
Makers + Activations
There are makers engaging in every sort of work at Lille this year. Here are a few of our favorites!
aequo.design studio: HANGER GAME
MaxiCat by Maxime Catteau
A former graphic designer and printer turned successful precarious artist, in his Lille studio MaxiCat creates silkscreen prints of posters, stickers and other badges, as well as packaging for parodic consumer products; fast food packaging guaranteed to cause food poisoning, depressing toys, deadly candies, always disappointing scratch cards, and other vinyl records by artists as distressing as they are fictional. Between criticism of consumer society, punk outlet and meticulous diversion, his colorful and detailed works address subjects such as depression, junk food, nostalgia or sexuality, all buried under 4 passages of fluorescent ink, dark humor and references to pop culture.
Performance!
YMNK is a multi-instrumentalist, hyperactive tinkerer of synths that he makes himself, developer, researcher, and tinkerer. “Since I was very young, I have always been passionate about two things: music and technology. So I composed my first pieces as a teenager while programming my first video games on the family computer. After studying audiovisual engineering, I joined a computer company. As for music, I joined the band Shiko Shiko with whom we recorded 2 albums and played more than 200 concert dates across Europe and Japan. With these experiences, I created with friends the company BLEASS, specialized in the development of musical applications for phones and tablets. This led me to develop, among other things, Jean-Michel JARRE’s application: EōN. For several years I have been making my own synthesizers and using them in my musical project.
Archil & Leon, both drummers, share a very specific vision of music. Their studios are filled with strange instruments: machines with disconcerting sounds created by Archil. He explores the boundaries between art and science. LEARN MORE ABOUT MAISON KITSUNE
DOC PIXEL – A multifaceted artist, Doc Pixel stands out for his universe that oscillates between art and science. Inventive and passionate, he develops interactive devices that combine image, sound, and light.
Perennial Maker Faire favorite EXOOT is coming to Lille this year. Maker Tristan Kruithof – who also makes some incredibly cool sculptures that we saw at Maker Faire Prague last year.
A Citroën with a healthy dose of positivism: it grooves, flirts and flies along the streets. A street phenomenon with a headstrong personality, AMI6 plays with – and frequently surprises – the audience.Exoot is the company that brings together Tristan Kruithof’s objects, installations, and performances. Exoot is a collective that operates under his artistic direction and performs at festivals and events.
MORE MAKERS + ACTIVATIONS!
Check out Maker Faire Lille 2024 for a taste of what’s to come
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