Nanotourisme

The Project

On the outskirts of Bordeaux (France), there is a town of 25,000 inhabitants called Bègles.

It´s not easy to find images of Bègles at the Tourist Office, the souvenir shops or the press stores.

On the other hand, Bordeaux´s architectural icons including Place de la Bourse, des Quinconces, Pont de Pierre, Arcachon…are ubiquitous in postcards and leaflets.

For tourists Bègles rests unknown on behalf of Bordeaux. Places and people in the outskirts are represented by the images of Bordeaux and its hystorical quarter.

Do citizens of this quarter agree?

Who chooses  the images that represent us? can we?

Can people create “touristic interest”?

Is it ridiculous to pretend someone to receive a postcard with a nice image representing our neighbourhood ?

Postcards from Bordeaux with local touristic attractions

Nanotourisme invites people to answer some of these questions, by taking the initiative and creating the “touristic imaginary” of the places where they live

On a practical scale, the project involves two steps:

1. Imaginary building

In the absence of a “touristic imaginary” of a place, people are invited to create it.

Once found the neighbors, they´re asked to choose a representative place and photograph it.

After negociating a selection, a postcard collection will be edited with the photographs of the participants.

2. Closing the circle

In the second procedure, in order to complete the “touristic process” it’s necessary to put into circulation the images of the place, so anyone can receive them at home. Neighbours are asked to send postcards either to their acquitances or to someone unknown with a message inviting to visit the place.

Will this act of receiving a postcard change the way in which these places are perceived?

Can we expect visitors?

We look forward for a response…