THE PROJECT

ALBA AND ITS TEAM

Founded in Charleroi by artist Mélanie De Biasio, l'Alba is a multidisciplinary artist residency conceived as a space for creation, connection, and transformation.

L’Alba’s team consists of a board of directors and a steering committee that guide and support the project’s strategic development, a small staff, and a dedicated team of volunteers. These volunteers actively contribute to areas such as communications, website development, the maintenance of the shared garden, and day-to-day operations, bringing a diversity of skills essential to l’Alba’s success.

ENABLING ARTISTS TO EXPLORE NEW WAYS OF CREATING AND BEING

Sooner or later, every creator faces that delicate moment of re-evaluating their art—that fragile, exhilarating, and uncomfortable moment of new exploration. Yet it is precisely there that the cornerstone of any artistic journey lies. L’Alba aims to offer this moment of pause: a warm and welcoming refuge, a laboratory where one can freely experiment with new paths, bring to light the still-hidden aspects of one’s talent, and “let recklessness take hold…,” to borrow the words of Alain Bashung.

PROGRAMMATION

L’Alba is also open to the public. Each year, it organizes a program of concerts, performances, exhibitions, readings, installations, and gatherings, with a focus on emerging, intimate, and sensitive art forms. These events provide an opportunity to share the artistic process with the public and to foster connections between artists, residents, students, partners, and visitors. 

HOUSE OF SHARED TALENTS

L’Alba aims to be a place of simplicity, exchange, and knowledge-sharing. Artists, volunteers, partners, workers in job-training programs, and citizens are invited to come together, combine their skills, and broaden their horizons.
Above all, the center is an open space where artists-in-residence are invited to engage with the public through a variety of events, allowing them to share their creative processes in a direct and dynamic way.

EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY

Recognized as a Social Economy Initiative and a SINE employer by the Walloon Region, L’Alba is deeply committed to social responsibility. In collaboration with the Charleroi Public Social Welfare Center (CPAS), it contributes to the professional and social reintegration of vulnerable individuals. This recognition reflects a constant commitment to opening its doors to everyone, regardless of social background, and to promoting access to artistic creation.

BRINGING TOGETHER CREATORS AND CULTURAL VENUES

Located at the intersection of urban, cultural, and educational life, L’Alba fosters close collaborations with numerous partners, including Eden, the Arthur Grumiaux Conservatory, CAL, Rockerill, the Festivals of Wallonia, RTBF, Botanique, PIAS, the De Launoit Foundation, the Spazio Nobile Art Gallery, the Book Fair, the Haute Ecole Libre de Bruxelles, and the Charleroi Public Social Welfare Center.

The Arthur Grumiaux Conservatory, located in the immediate vicinity, is a key partner. L’Alba aims to strengthen this connection by offering a complementary space—an “outside-the-box” environment—that allows students and teachers to explore freer and more interdisciplinary forms of creativity.