Aimée Laberge, Author and Former Director of Programs, Alliance Française de Chicago (Chicago, U.S.A.)

Aimée Laberge has spent the past 15 years promoting French and Francophone cultures as Director of Programs at the Alliance Française Chicago, a non-profit organization that is part of a worldwide network dedicated to cultural exchange and friendship between Americans and French-speaking communities.

Aimée Laberge increased attendance to over 4,000 participants by curating more than 50 events per year. Her Entrée Libre initiative enabled students to attend programs free of charge in an effort to attract a younger audience. Her standout achievement was the annual month-long Festival de la Francophonie, highlighting the cultural diversity of the French-speaking world.

Born in Quebec and having lived throughout Canada and in London prior to moving to Chicago, Aimée Laberge’s debut novel, Where the River Narrows (HarperCollins, 2003), has been translated into multiple languages. A second novel followed, Les Amants de Mort-Bois (Québec-Amérique, 2007).

Aimée Laberge is a Chevalière in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, an honour bestowed by the French government for her contribution to French cultural heritage.

Bridging Worlds Through Public Heritage: A Parisian Métro Entrance as an Anchor for Chicago’s Cultural District

Gifted by the City of Paris to Chicago, Hector Guimard’s Art Nouveau Métro entrance has stood for over two decades at Grant Park, welcoming passengers to the suburban transit network in the heart of downtown. Planned renovations requiring its relocation prompted a broader inquiry: could this iconic entranceway serve as a catalyst for placemaking beyond its original transportation function?

A proposal was made by the Alliance Française to the City of Chicago seeking to explore how heritage and cultural infrastructure can be mobilized to foster dialogue around urban renewal. The proposal called for relocating the Métro entrance to an “L” station within River North, a neighborhood rich in mission-driven cultural organizations but still impacted adversely by the pandemic.

Using the entranceway as an anchor, the project proposed to establish public “corridors” within the street grid, marked by art and connecting the various local institutions. This newly defined cultural district would act as a trigger to attract more visitors, revitalize empty commercial spaces, and bridge an economically diverse constituency.

This presentation will reflect on the proposal’s development, the barriers that prevented its realization, and the lessons it offers for future cross-sector cultural projects. It argues for a more intentional alignment between vision, governance, and community engagement to unlock the full potential of culture and public art as tools for urban resilience and social cohesion.

A previous version of this talk, “Métro + beau à Chicago”, was co-presented by Aimée Laberge and Elizabeth Cummings in front of the public at the Salle du Conseil de la Ville de Paris in December 2024, part of a conference organized by Le Cercle Guimard.