Immerse yourself in a fascinating journey through the dreams, ideals and plans for ideal cities through history, from the 19th century to the present day. “Cité des possibles – Des utopies aux réalités de demain” (Cities with possibilities – From utopias to future realities) invites visitors to explore the architectural and humanist visions that have shaped these utopias and ask questions about their impact on society today. From the idea to implementation, from the debates to the diversions, the exhibition showcases all of the different facets of these projects through documents and interactive exhibits.

Right at the heart of the exhibition is the visionary project, the Cité Mondiale or World City, the brainchild of Paul Otlet, who cofounded the Mundaneum. This pioneer dreamed of a universal space dedicated to knowledge and international cooperation, a city designed to promote peace and progress. With the help of his colleagues, including Henri La Fontaine, as well as renowned architects like Le Corbusier, he came up with the idea of a city housing all of the world’s intellectual knowledge, a model city, free from any geographical or ideological boundaries. While the World City never became a reality, it is still a powerful, timeless source of inspiration.

The exhibition also explores lots of other projects, from the past and the present, that redefine and rethink our relationship with the world. These initiatives, sometimes born out of very different circumstances, continue to inspire us with ways in which we can rethink the city, how it is organised and how it functions, in order to meet the challenges of our era, from climate change to social inequality and issues relating to mobility. Some of these projects have been heavily influenced by humanist ideals, while others strive to reconcile architectural progress, quality of life and sustainability. Through these examples, the exhibition also asks questions about the deviations and the political, economical or social obstacles that have hindered some of these utopias, transforming ambitious dreams into failures or dystopias.

“Cité des possibles – Des utopies aux réalités de demain” is a fascinating journey that encourages you to dream, to ask questions, and to reinvent the future of our towns and cities. How can we rethink the way we live and coexist in a world that is constantly changing? What can we learn from these utopias if we want to tackle the challenges of successful coexistence today? By asking these questions, the exhibition triggers a conversation between the past and the present, the ideal and reality, and encourages all of us to think of some innovative solutions for the urban spaces of the future.

An exhibition presented by the Mundaneum in partnership with the Masters course in Expographie-Muséographie at the University of Artois in Arras (France).

Au Mundaneum