We are pleased to share with you the interview with Lizzie Reid at the end of her residency at La Friche in Marseille.

Lizzie Reid: Exploring Urban Heat and Public Space in Marseille

In the Mediterranean, a region particularly exposed to climate change, the European MATCH programme explores how art can foster new forms of ecological engagement. By using community gardens as spaces for encounter and experimentation, it invites artists and local residents to collectively imagine more supportive and regenerative practices.

At La Friche la Belle de Mai, this residency takes root in the Jardin des Rails, where creativity, ecology, and citizen participation converge.

We met Lizzie Reid, an artist-researcher hosted for one month at La Friche as part of the MATCH programme. After studying graphic design and completing a master’s in political ecology and environmental law, Lizzie has focused her research on how residents respond to heat, and how it affects cities like Marseille.

Does your research during the residency focus on a particular topic?

I’m interested in urban heat waves. I approach heat as a concrete reality for people who have to adapt and learn to live with it, and I explore the ways cities can respond.

I’ve worked on public space, its regulations and usage, and the principles of openness and closure. My research is based on the notion of the “porous city”, a concept used by Walter Benjamin and later applied in urban studies. I use it as a metaphor, similar to the permeability of leaves or materials. Cities also need to remain permeable to people, but they are increasingly policed and privatized.

How has your approach evolved in contact with Marseille?

Coming from an activist background, I’m used to bold statements, often for their graphic impact and sense of collective rallying. Being able to experiment with a wide range of materials, and to combine academic sources with direct observation, has led me to explore new aesthetics. For example, I collected markings on the sidewalks left by workers to map and note underground networks.

For one of the pieces I made here, I used heat-reactive pigments printed on textiles. The images (photographs of plants) and texts are barely visible at first, but they appear clearly at 27ºC. The plants were collected from the garden at the back of La Friche, near the Villa des Auteurs.

What insights have you gained about public space in Marseille?

Living in Belle de Mai, you notice the inventive ways people occupy public space. Marseille feels porous when residents engage with streets in diverse ways, even though tensions remain — police presence and privatization are still visible.

Marseille is a heat island in the region, and La Friche is a heat island within Marseille. It’s 99% concrete. Concrete absorbs heat and releases it very slowly, remaining warm into the night. Many people here are working on solutions: breaking up concrete surfaces, renaturalizing areas, creating staggered opening hours, and opening new public spaces. This also informed work with parents and children on the playground, where we drew and discussed ideas.

What are the next steps for your work here?

I’ll return in June to install a work — and it will be hot! I’ll continue exploring thermo-reactive pigments, experimenting with different applications over the coming months. The banners I’ve hung remind me of large banners fluttering in the wind. In a space like La Friche, which is open, they could bring something light, beautiful, and poetic to the environment.