Three years after its reopening, the Bateau Ivre is at a turning point in its history. To continue the adventure, SCIC Ohé, which bought the cultural hall and manages it, launches a large subscription to increase its membership and recover funds.
With around 2,000 members today, the cooperative that manages the Bateau Ivre is a success in its own right. Its members say it loud and clear; in fact, it is the largest cultural cooperative in France. The adventure, which started in 2010, has already seen some wonderful, but also some more delicate chapters. Of course, purchasing the space and reopening it is positive. Less positive is the difficulty of bringing this space to life while remaining profitable.
The members of the Board of Directors of Bateau Ivre make no secret of this, citing “a complicated financial situation”, particularly due to the difficulties linked to Covid. As a reminder, the space had to close its doors in March 2020 after only 11 days of opening. It subsequently reopened only in September 2021. Enough to put a strain on the finances since it opened, as a loan had to be reduced at the time. Despite everything since then, the Bateau Ivre offers a rich program at least four evenings a week, thanks in particular to the 300 volunteers involved. Enough to make Franck Mouget, the coordinator of Bateau Ivre, say: “We have managed to reintegrate the place into the cultural and artistic landscape”, who gives a figure of 850 artistic teams received and 58,000 spectators in two and a half years.
Kévin Turpeau, one of the administrators, explains that “the boat finances itself on a daily basis, but not enough for the artists, the technicians… So we have to find a little oxygen, hence the new subscription”. With an artistic budget of 300,000 euros per year, the Bateau Ivre is now a cruise ship that needs to be maneuvered successfully.
Nevertheless, the team wants to remain positive because “the tool is now ready,” they explain, pointing to the opening of the balcony in the fall, which will give the space a capacity of 500 people. Enough to program larger artists than just the bottom hole, but also to rethink the project a bit.
“Take over part of the boat (again)”
“We are ambitious but not dogmatic,” explains Thierry Bouvet, President of SCIC Ohé. “In the first two years we conducted explorations to improve our practices and organization. Today we are refining the project with this experience. Le Bateau Ivre is a living project that is constantly evolving. » Among the changes we would like to point out more traditional ticketing but “at an affordable price”, as well as revised rental prices.
Money remains the basis of war and the Bateau Ivre is therefore trying to gain some breathing room. For this purpose, a new subscription “(Re)take a Share of Boat” has just been launched to purchase shares (the price of the share is €100 for a natural person, €400 for a legal entity) of the cooperative. It lasts two months until February 14th. The announced goal is to double the number of members to 4,000 and raise 300,000 euros to pay off debts and get back afloat.
Another conclusion:
To become a member of Bateau Ivre, visit www.bateauivre.coop
Originally posted 2023-12-18 00:28:13.