La Coopérative de Mai in Clermont-Ferrand celebrated its twentieth anniversary in March 2020: twenty years of a constantly rejuvenated audience that made the hall its focal point, twenty years of activism, of support for local artists and of ground cleared that placed the city on the map of places that matter. Proud of its work, the venue dreamed of a volume that would count among works of art; contrary to what Serge Gainsbourg, whose name the street bears, said, the team does not believe in a hierarchy between high and low culture, between learned and popular music. They turned to the photographer Julien Mignot and to JD Beauvallet, co-founder of Les Inrockuptibles, both with personal ties to the region — Mignot had been in residence at the venue in 2005 and made his first publication from it, and fifteen years later was asked to think up a carte blanche for the anniversary.