Situated in a public park located on rue Wannecouter, The Atomium’s Lil’ Sisters is a friendly place that takes the form of a “plinth for encounters”. It is a place of transition between the housing units, the neighbourhood and the city where the popular game of pétanque is played, forming the focal point of interactions and social life. The artist has given personalized pétanque sets to the people living in the social housing units, and offered them the opportunity to take weekly classes. More than just a game, this is an invitation to enter the field of social interactions and daily exchanges, and to get to know one another.

Commissioned by 101e % Société du logement de la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale – SLRB et Le Foyer Laekenois, Quartier Mutsaard, Laeken / Brussels, Belgium

Situated in a public park located on rue Wannecouter, The Atomium’s Lil’ Sisters is a friendly place that takes the form of a “plinth for encounters”. It is a place of transition between the housing units, the neighbourhood and the city where the popular game of pétanque is played, forming the focal point of interactions and social life. The artist has given personalized pétanque sets to the people living in the social housing units, and offered them the opportunity to take weekly classes. More than just a game, this is an invitation to enter the field of social interactions and daily exchanges, and to get to know one another.

Situated in a public park located on rue Wannecouter, The Atomium’s Lil’ Sisters is a friendly place that takes the form of a “plinth for encounters”. It is a place of transition between the housing units, the neighbourhood and the city where the popular game of pétanque is played, forming the focal point of interactions and social life. The artist has given personalized pétanque sets to the people living in the social housing units, and offered them the opportunity to take weekly classes. More than just a game, this is an invitation to enter the field of social interactions and daily exchanges, and to get to know one another.

Situated in a public park located on rue Wannecouter, The Atomium’s Lil’ Sisters is a friendly place that takes the form of a “plinth for encounters”. It is a place of transition between the housing units, the neighbourhood and the city where the popular game of pétanque is played, forming the focal point of interactions and social life. The artist has given personalized pétanque sets to the people living in the social housing units, and offered them the opportunity to take weekly classes. More than just a game, this is an invitation to enter the field of social interactions and daily exchanges, and to get to know one another.

Situated in a public park located on rue Wannecouter, The Atomium’s Lil’ Sisters is a friendly place that takes the form of a “plinth for encounters”. It is a place of transition between the housing units, the neighbourhood and the city where the popular game of pétanque is played, forming the focal point of interactions and social life. The artist has given personalized pétanque sets to the people living in the social housing units, and offered them the opportunity to take weekly classes. More than just a game, this is an invitation to enter the field of social interactions and daily exchanges, and to get to know one another.

Situated in a public park located on rue Wannecouter, The Atomium’s Lil’ Sisters is a friendly place that takes the form of a “plinth for encounters”. It is a place of transition between the housing units, the neighbourhood and the city where the popular game of pétanque is played, forming the focal point of interactions and social life. The artist has given personalized pétanque sets to the people living in the social housing units, and offered them the opportunity to take weekly classes. More than just a game, this is an invitation to enter the field of social interactions and daily exchanges, and to get to know one another.

Situated in a public park located on rue Wannecouter, The Atomium’s Lil’ Sisters is a friendly place that takes the form of a “plinth for encounters”. It is a place of transition between the housing units, the neighbourhood and the city where the popular game of pétanque is played, forming the focal point of interactions and social life. The artist has given personalized pétanque sets to the people living in the social housing units, and offered them the opportunity to take weekly classes. More than just a game, this is an invitation to enter the field of social interactions and daily exchanges, and to get to know one another.

The Housing Authority of the Bruxelles-Capitale region—SLRB—commissioned Cécile Pitois to design a public work of art for the Laeken neighbourhood. This commission is part of the 101e % programme, where artists are commissioned to create perennial works of art that display a strong relationship with the specific context of social housing. Cécile Pitois’ proposal includes three distinct yet complementary projects: The Refuge of Dreams, Requiem for a Star and The Atomium’s Lil’ Sisters. All three refer to the 1958 World’s Fair and specifically to the nearby Atomium, recalling an era of prosperity, of dreams—of utopianism, even—that the inhabitants of Brussels still remember.