• The new Antipode will be inaugurated this weekend in the Courrouze district, which he discovered after 50 years in Cleunay.

  • This new environment does not change the ambitions of the team to make the Antipode an open and popular place.

  • The city has spent more than 20 million euros to design this place which houses a library, activity rooms, concert halls and rehearsal studios.

The Antipode was beginning to feel the weight of the years.

Founded in Cleunay in the 1960s at the same time as the buildings under construction, the cultural association has grown to support the development of the district and offer leisure activities to residents who were then deprived of it.

After more than fifty years spent in the heart of this popular suburb, the cultural equipment that has become a library, concert hall and youth center, has packed its bags to settle in its new premises, which will be inaugurated this weekend. end.

As the crow flies, the old and the new are only 500 meters apart.

The surrounding environment is, however, very different.

Goodbye buildings from the 1960s and all concrete and hello to the mushroom district surrounded by vegetation.

In the ranks of the Antipode teams, this new setting is appreciated.

But we swear that popular culture remains at the heart of the project.

“In 2010, when we said that we were going to leave Cleunay, some told us that we were leaving the working class to go to the sores.

We promised it wasn't.

Our challenge today is to maintain proximity.

We want to continue welcoming the inhabitants of Cleunay while supporting the development of Courrouze.

Access to cultural rights for all remains our priority ”, assures Karim Makri, unwavering deputy director of the structure.

A crazy library and exceptional acoustics

In this new district which is struggling to find its soul, the Antipode dreams of a place of gathering, of openness. To achieve this, the MJC will have to convince the inhabitants to push open the doors of this imposing building with its rather austere exterior architecture. “We have to be able to attract people inside. They will then see that it is very bright, even warm. The first feedback we have is excellent, ”promises Karim Makri. The MJC still shows a slight drop in the number of members, even if certain activities are still very popular. To convince "the most distant", the association will continue to offer solidarity pricing and will continue its work "outside the walls" with schools, retirement homes, CCAS ...

Really charmed by the new @antipoderennes.

The club format will be crazy for electro evenings.

A priori, the large hall offers exceptional acoustics.

And what about the huge library with possible rental of vinyls and reading stands ... #Rennes pic.twitter.com/qDWg71gnKL

- Camille Allain (@CamiAllain) October 21, 2021

To build this new structuring facility of nearly 5,000 m², the city has gone all out, spending more than 20 million euros. Let's be clear, the result is stunning. The library is superb and offers reading stands with views of the neighborhood and a rare vinyl loan service. The "club" room, its long bar and its 250 seats will make many DJs and electronic collectives dream. As for the large hall with nearly 1,000 seats, it fills a glaring lack from which Rennes suffered for too long. “The acoustics are exceptional there,” promises director Stéphanie Thomas-Bonnetin, who arrived at the start of the year.

In its thick concrete walls, the Antipode also has a 120 m² creation studio where professionals can come and record, hardworking their staging or their play of light.

A tool that did not yet exist in Brittany.

“There was a real need, we already have a lot of requests.

Nine teams will be welcomed by the end of the year ”, lists Gaëtan Naël, head of musical programming.

More than 80 dates have already been set for the coming season.

We will be able to discover there the new project of Victor Solf, former member of Her, the pop of the young Joanna or the darkness of the compositions of Emma Ruth Rundle.

"And we will continue to invite Santa Claus from the neighborhood", promise the teams.

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The old Antipode will be demolished

Long uncertain, the future of the old Antipode is now known.

The historic buildings on rue André Trasbot will be demolished "within two to three years" according to the municipality.

In the meantime, they will welcome associations and the Ay-Roop circus company.

The city aims to build housing and socio-cultural premises there.

  • Reindeer

  • Culture

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  • Education

  • District

  • Equipment

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