The Year of Design is finally underway: meet Denis Tersen

Designated World Design Capital 2020, Lille had to wait. "The lockdown occurred just a few weeks before the grand opening, scheduled for 29 April."says Denis TersenManaging Director of the Lille Metropole 2020 World Design Capital Committee, who said: "we have been able to re-establish a dense and complete programme from 9 September" with the "clean and safe" labeldespite "the traffic jam of cultural events postponed in search of venues". As expected "POC (Proof Of Concept) are being built, and local businesses, local authorities and associations are being given the opportunity to "get to know each other".show how they have used design to transform their business, their city and the city as a whole"Denis Tersen continues, advocating "popular design. The idea of the world capital is not to embody "decorative" design, but rather design that transforms uses, in the spirit of the "involved arts" espoused by the designer Jacques Viennot. ."

Despite the list of previously designated towns - Mexico City, Seoul, le Cap -Lille has no inferiority complex. The 2004 European Capital of Culture has already proved its worth: "Lille is a creative metropoliswith prestigious cultural venues. The driving force behind design is creation"Denis Tersen points to the example of one of the region's major companies, Decathlon, which has taken the design route by drawing on a team of 270 designers, the vast majority of whom are based in the metropolitan area. "Lille has design DNA"Denis Tersen concludes.