Photo : © Mounir Ayache
Counter-Narratives: Reinventing Futures, Shifting Imaginaries
From October 24 to November 14, 2026, come discover Counter-Narratives, a new program dedicated to artists whose works reinvent science fiction imaginaries and shift dominant narratives of technology. Between performance, cinema, immersive installation, and encounters, you are invited to view technologies differently: not just as instruments of a future to come, but as spaces where other ways of seeing the world emerge.
Le Cube Garges
About
Featured: Leo Africanus: 2527, by Mounir Ayache
What if you could walk in the footsteps of a 16th-century man… projected a thousand years into the future?
Mounir Ayache, a Franco-Moroccan artist, presents the concluding project of several years of research: a video game installation that reimagines the figure of Leo Africanus in a distant future and an Arab-futurist vein, inspired by the eponymous novel by Amine Maalouf. You walk among historical monuments of Timbuktu and Samarra, reconstructed in 3D and transformed by a thousand years of future civilization; you speak directly in Arabic with characters animated by artificial intelligence… Their voices and stories were written by authors from the Maghreb.
Practical Information:
- Ages 11 and up
- Free
- Duration: continuous
Around the installation: a program that will take you on a journey!
PERFORMANCE
With inLAND, Annabelle Playe, Marc Siffert, and Hugo Arcier create an
audio-reactive performance that blends video games and the theme of crossing
between worlds.
Explored live (on stage and online on Discord) in the style of a 3D video
game, new universes open and crumble. Reality transforms into
illusion and abstraction gives birth to landscapes. An elusive voice
traverses them, a witness or creator of a mysterious genesis in progress.
Practical Information:
- Saturday, November 14 at 8:00 PM
- Ages 15 and up · €5 to €15 · Duration: 1h
CINEMA
For its third season, machinim_ai addresses the question of
communities, questioning how they are built and sustained.
The films selected in this framework reveal how
virtual video game worlds are used by artists to tell
other stories about our world. By subverting Far Cry 5, GTA V, or The
Last of Us, artists give space to stories that are not widely seen.
Practical Information:
- Saturday, October 24 at 4:00 PM and Saturday, November 14 at 4:00 PM
- Ages 12 and up · Free · Duration: 1h
PERFORMANCE
Otaku Time expands the program to Japanese and Korean cultures.
Manga, K-pop, video games, cosplay, and culinary discoveries invite
visitors to a festive and friendly day.
Practical Information:
- Saturday, November 7, all day
- Ages 6 and up · Free
Our take on this event
Forget everything you know about reality by stepping into these immersive installations that catapult history a thousand years into the future. From Arab-futurist digital landscapes to interactive storytelling, this is the perfect spot to challenge your creative perspective.
Discover Contre-Récits : Réinventer les futurs, déplacer les imaginaires at Le Cube Garges on October 24, 2026, from 14:30 to 19:00. This event showcases the video game installation Léon l’Africain : 2527 by Mounir Ayache, an Afro-futurist journey through 3D reconstructions of Timbuktu and Samarra shifted a millennium into the future. Entirely free of charge, the venue is fully accessible to wheelchair users and provides specific support for deaf, hard-of-hearing, blind, visually impaired, or cognitively impaired visitors. Designed for participants aged 11 and up, this experience offers a unique perspective on technology and storytelling.
Step into a space where history and sci-fi collide at Le Cube Garges. The featured work, Léon l’Africain : 2527 by Franco-Moroccan artist Mounir Ayache, invites you to walk through legendary historical sites transformed by a thousand years of future civilization. You will engage in live Arabic conversations with AI-driven characters, whose backstories were crafted by authors from the Maghreb region.
At 16:00, the program continues with a film screening from the machinim_ai series. By repurposing popular video games like Far Cry 5 and GTA V, featured artists tell untold stories and explore how virtual communities are formed. This specific screening is recommended for ages 12 and up.
Located at 40, Avenue du Général de Gaulle in Garges-lès-Gonesse, the facility is designed to be inclusive. The site is wheelchair accessible and equipped to accommodate visitors with cognitive, auditory, or visual impairments, including the use of sign language. Admission is free for all activities throughout the day.
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