LES GRANDES PERSONNES

What LES GRANDES PERSONNES does

Les Grandes Personnes is a French non-profit artistic collective (association loi 1901) founded in 1998 and headquartered in Aubervilliers, Île-de-France, within the Villa Mais d'Ici cultural hub. The collective specializes in the design, construction, and live performance of giant puppets and ambulatory spectacles reaching up to four meters in height, using papier-mâché over wire armature along with harnesses for manipulation and illuminated masquerade elements. Its work spans multiple artistic registers, including site-specific installations, parade-style processionals, intimate miniature pieces (such as 'La Ligne jaune' with ten-centimeter terracotta figures), and carnival-themed performances combining sculpture, theater, music, and dance.

The collective's core technology is its accessible papier-mâché construction methodology, paired with a participatory workshop framework that involves local communities in the creation, manipulation, deconstruction, and recycling of theatrical objects. Productions include named marionette families (Famille Mimoun, Famille Bollywood, Famille Verne), signature spectacles (Allebrilles, Bona Kélé, La Bascule, Mambo Jumbo), and large-scale collective creations (Le Fleuve, 2003, with 220 participants). The organization documents approximately 18 performances and a catalog of participatory creation formats on its website.

Les Grandes Personnes operates an event-driven and community-led go-to-market: it generates revenue from performance fees, multi-week artist residencies and workshops, and cultural grants from French municipal and national bodies (Ville d'Aubervilliers, Conseil Général de Seine-Saint-Denis, AFAA, Culturesfrance, French Embassies) and international partners (Conaculta, Consejo de la Cultura, Gauteng Provincial Government, Museo del Arte Popular). The collective serves municipal governments, cultural festivals, and community associations; it has no publicly disclosed pricing model, no standardized product pricing, and no recorded commercial customer logos beyond a single corporate sponsor (Danone, 2010).

Name

LES GRANDES PERSONNES

Legal name

Les Grandes Personnes

Website

https://lesgrandespersonnes.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Les Grandes Personnes is a French non-profit artistic collective founded in 1998 that designs, builds, and performs giant papier-mâché puppet spectacles and participatory street theater for municipalities, cultural festivals, and community organizations across France and internationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Performing Arts and Street Theater

NAICS

Other Performing Arts Companies (711190)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Fringe & Experimental Performing Arts (MPAGABAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Performing Arts Organizations (Theater, Dance, Opera, Music) (BPAGAHAB)

Keywords

• Giant puppet theater
• Street theater performances
• Participatory art workshops
• Community art creation
• Puppet construction residencies

Headquarters

HQ city

Aubervilliers

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Performance fees: Revenue generated from presenting spectacles at festivals, municipal events, and cultural venues. Performances are created and produced for specific commissions and presentations.
2. Artist residencies and workshops: Conducting participatory workshops and artist residencies that involve communities in creating giant puppets and performances. These are typically funded through cultural grants and municipal partnerships.
3. Cultural grants and public funding: Supported by various public and private cultural organizations including French cultural councils, municipal governments, and international cultural bodies.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Les Grandes Personnes is a French non-profit artistic collective that designs, constructs, and performs giant papier-mâché puppet spectacles and ambulatory street theater for festivals, municipalities, and cultural institutions. The collective also conducts participatory workshops and artist residencies that transfer its construction techniques to local communities, enabling them to create their own puppet troupes. Productions range from illuminated processional spectacles (Allebrilles) to large-scale collective creations with 200+ participants (Le Fleuve).

Product overview

Les Grandes Personnes is a French performing arts collective founded in 1998, specializing in giant puppetry and participatory street theatre. The company offers a diverse portfolio of spectacles including ambulatory shows (Allebrilles, Les Touristes), family marionette collections (Famille Mimoun, Famille Bollywood, Famille Verne), large-scale collective creations (Le Fleuve), and participatory workshops (Bourg-les-Cartons, Ancêtres). Their work explores interactions between plastic arts and theatre, using papier-mâché techniques and involving communities in creation, performance, and recycling of theatrical productions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Giant Puppets (Marionnettes géantes)
• Allebrilles

Quantifiable outcome

• The collective has trained and inspired approximately 30 independent associations worldwide to create their own giant puppet performances

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Museo del Arte Popular (MAP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Mexico City's Museo del Arte Popular, which promotes and preserves Mexican folk art. The collaboration connects Les Grandes Personnes' Alebrijes spectacle to its Mexican cultural roots. MAP organizes an annual October parade of giant alebrijes in collaboration with Conaculta and Mexico City.
• Conaculta (Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMexico's National Council for Culture and the Arts, which co-organizes the annual giant alebrije parade with the Museo del Arte Popular.
• SubsistancesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLyon-based cultural venue and production center that supported the creation of Allebrilles.
• Musée GadagneminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMuseum in Lyon that supported the Allebrilles creation.
• Noche de los AlebrijesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual Mexican event celebrating alebrije culture, co-supported with Allebrilles creation.
• Villa Mais d'IcicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAubervilliers cultural hub where Les Grandes Personnes is headquartered. This 'friche culturelle de proximité' (local cultural wasteland) is a mutualist, open, and self-managed creative space housing approximately 40 collectives. The project was initiated when Jean and Babette Martin found the premises in 2002.
• French Institute of South AfricacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInitiated and supported the Giant Match project for the 2010 World Cup, working with South African artists and Les Grandes Personnes.
• Wits School of Arts (University of the Witwatersrand)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSouth African university art school that partnered on the Giant Match project.
• Valparaiso ProduccionescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChilean production company that partnered with Les Grandes Personnes for their 2008 residency in Valparaiso, creating a street performance with city inhabitants as part of Carnavales Culturales.
• Awaln'Art FestivalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMoroccan festival of street arts that Les Grandes Personnes participated in during 2007, 2008, and 2011 editions, conducting processional performances and mask/puppet workshops.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Théâtre du Soleil: Iconic French theater company producing large-scale participatory performances from its Cartoucherie workshops. Comparable in operating as a non-profit collective with deep community involvement and international touring, though anchored in scripted theater rather than giant puppetry.

Direct peers

• Compagnie Off: French street theater company performing internationally with object theater and large-scale puppetry. Comparable in craft-based puppet construction, international touring, and European festival programming.
• La Machine: French company creating giant moving mechanical structures and street theater productions. Highly comparable in large-scale public puppetry, international residency model, and municipal festival commissions.
• Compagnie des Quidams: French street arts company producing ambulatory spectacles with large-scale puppets and masked performers. Comparable artistic form, similar European festival circuit presence, and analogous community-engagement approach.
• Carabosse: French company producing fire-lit street installations and ambulatory spectacles. Comparable in the outdoor festival performance market, municipal commissioning model, and large-scale public art installations.
• Générik Vapeur: Marseille-based street theater company specializing in large-scale mechanical and industrial-aesthetic performances. Comparable in producing monumental public spectacles, using industrial materials, and working with international partner communities.
• Royal de Luxe: French street theater company famous for giant marionettes performing in public spaces worldwide. The closest direct comparable to Les Grandes Personnes in terms of giant puppet craft, ambulatory street spectacles, and international touring scale.
• Ilotopie: French street theater company known for large-scale urban spectacles with inflatable and sculptural elements. Comparable in deploying monumental sculptures in public spaces, international touring, and participatory performance formats.

Regional players

• Bindlestiff Family Variety Arts: US-based nonprofit supporting variety arts, street performance, and large-scale puppetry. Comparable as a non-profit arts organization producing giant puppet spectacles and community-engaged performance, though primarily serving a North American context.

Emerging players

• Festival Internacional de Teatro Callejero: Latin American street theater festivals (e.g., FITEC) that commission and showcase giant puppet companies. Comparable as part of the international street theater ecosystem where LGP tours and recruits affiliated associations.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/grdespersonnes
• Facebookfacebook.com/703920813056649
• Instagraminstagram.com/grandespersonnes
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/les-grandes-personnes

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about LES GRANDES PERSONNES