La Filature is a giant "boat," set in the Nouveau Bassin area of Mulhouse, and built on the site of an old cotton factory. Construction began in 1990, and the building's inauguration took place on September 4, 1993. In 2003, the cultural organisation implanted here celebrated its tenth anniversary. (Le 6 septembre 2003, La Filature fêtait ses 10 ans).
The building, built by Claude Vasconi, has three major performance spaces: the Grande Salle, with 1200 seats; the Salle Modulable, which can hold up to 360 spectators, depending on its configuration; the Salle Jean Besse, a 98 seat audiovisual space and several Studios reserved for the digital arts. There is also a Médiathèque managed by the city of Mulhouse, which specialises in the performing arts, an exhibition space, several rehearsal studios, dressing rooms and offices.
The cultural entity that is La Filature hosts three different organisations: the Orchestre Symphonique de Mulhouse (the OSM), the Opéra national du Rhin (the ONR) along with the Ballet National du Rhin and the Jeunes Voix du Rhin, as well as the Scène nationale (the SN).
Mulhouse and La Filature are in the first rank of national cultural organisations. The mission of La Filature is to bring a multicultural arts programme to the area, while also supporting and promoting high quality artistic creation. It is a multi-disciplinary and multicultural venue, a haven for live performance.
The municipality of Mulhouse has fully committed itself to the promotion of culture and the facilitation of social cohesion in the city: La Filature is accessible to everyone.
Some recent statistics from La Filature:
- Personnel in 2004: 65 (full-time or equivalent)
- Operating Budget for 2004: 5,609,000 %u20AC (of which 4,609,000 %u20AC were for la Scène nationale)
- Audiences during the 2004-05 season: 87,000 in attendance, 46,000 of whom came to productions at the Scène nationale.
- 6,363 subscribers during the 2004-05 season, 3,765 subscribing to the Scène nationale, 1,198 to the Orchestre Symphonique and 1,400 to the Opéra national du Rhin.
