Nantes Creative Generations by sophie-charlotte colrat

Un magazine EUROPA pour nantes Creative Generations 2013

- editours-

the last rampart

D’un rêve à une idée, à un désir, aux possibles, des choix, une forme, un développement, des hasards, les impossibles, les mauvais moments, se surpasser, les victoires, la volonté et la patience. Et finalement, concrétiser (dans l’allégresse). Beaucoup de murs à franchir avant de voir vivre son projet. Vous êtes donc venus tous blindés pour ce forum NCG. Certains d’entre vous ont même opté pour l’art de la manière. Le fond pour appuyer la forme. Et non l’inverse. Car c’est bien tout un art de combiner l’originalité, le développement durable et la volonté collective. Une fois ce premier but atteint, plus aucun barrage ne devrait entraver votre route. Europa a connu ses étapes. En neuf ans, Europa a su grandir, se remettre en question, se développer et s’exprimer, toujours. Pas encore convaincu ? Eh bien, c’est seulement la deuxième page de ce numéro rédigé pour vous, participants de NCG 2013, et que vous tenez maintenant entre les mains. Nous n’allons pas vous blâmer pour ça. Mais nous espérons sincèrement que vous autres, venant de seize pays européens, avez profité de votre séjour avec Nantes Creative Generations. Ceins dans ces murs, entre échanges, débats, ateliers et deux ou trois verres (voire plusieurs), et que les doutes n’assiègent plus personne.

From a dream to an idea, to… Well, a desire, the possibles, choices, a shape, a development, hazards, the impossibles, the bad times, surpassing yourself, victories, the will and the patience. And finally, realize ( joyfully). Many walls to be crossed before seeing living the project. Thus, you came fortified for this forum NCG. Some of you even opted for the art of the way. The style to enhance the content. And not the opposite. Because it is quite an art to combine originality, sustainable development and the collective will. Once this first purpose reached, no more barrier should block you the road. The fort Europa is already gone by these steps. Not convinced yet? Well, it is only the second page of this special NCG issue that you’re holding, we can’t blame you for that. We sincerely hope that you, people from the sixteen different european countries, enjoyed your stay in Nantes Creative Generations, between exchanges, debates, workshops and a couple of drinks, even several ones. Girded in these walls, between exchanges, debates, workshops and two or three glasses (even several), and that the doubts besiege nobody anymore.

They are Ours Editorial Artyran (artyran de la rédaction) - Marc Desmaillet

L’EUROPe,EN LONg,EN LARGE et DE TRAVERS

Europa est un magazine trimestriel gratuit, d'information européenne basé sur un modèle de journalisme participatif. Réalisé par de jeunes citoyens européens, il présente l'Europe en long en large, et de travers. journaleuropa.info

Responsible Eco-pilot (eco-pilote responsable) - Clément Bouchet Sustainaible layout(er) (maquettiste durable) - Marianne Mingant & Sophie-Charlotte Colrat

Dépôt légal - Octobre 2013. Toutes les œuvres (illustrations, photos et textes) publiées dans Europa sont la propriété de leurs auteurs. Celles comportant la mention Creative Commons (CC) sont distribuées sous licence libre.

Well-being Interviewer (intervieweur bien-portant)- Côme Tessier Editorial assistANTS (secrétaires de rédaction): Charline Birault Nadège Azarias Fanny Bonnin Rémi Donaint Pauline Durillon Front Cover (couverture) – Credits : Audrey AK (CC)

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- around the hall -

THE DAY I TRAVELED ALL EUROPE WITHOUT FEELING JETLAGGED

LE JOUR Où J’AI TRAVERSÉ L’EUROPE SANS RESSENTIR LE JETLAG

The weather is wonderful in this European morning, the center of the exhibitions of Nantes Métropole welcomes about fifty participants, twenty six projects and the sunbeams. Almost on time, the word from the receptionnist and the small presentation of the forum ends. No time to lose, it is ‘Icebreaker time’. No ice pick in sight nevertheless. The room is divided in two long ‘face-to-face’ columns, separated from some inches from each other. And it’s on for ten minutes of ‘speed-dating’ just to get to know better this charming person who is in front of you. The language is undoubtedly the best way to melt it, the ice.The third column, less formal, forms near the tables where throne enough croissants and similar products to catch up a forgottent breakfast forgotten and several liters of coffee. When in the microphone a small voice raises, “okay, now you can move one to the person one to your left ...”, the discussions do not stop at all. Difficult to let go once in it! The conversations oscillate according to simple themes launched by the lady with the microphone: “what do you make on your spare time?”, “tell a funny anecdote which occured during the project”. It’s true, the small-talk serves to move closer above all, to create links. We speak loudly, with big gestures, either hands in pockets, we try to keep an eye-contact, we get closer to hear better and especially understand, we shake hands. Smiles and sun flood in the room.

Il fait un temps superbe en cette matinée européenne, le centre des expositions de Nantes Métropole accueille une cinquantaine de participants, vingt-six projets et les rayons du soleil. Presque pile à l’heure, le mot d’accueil et la petite présentation du forum se terminent. Plus une seconde à perdre, c’est le “Icebreaker time”. Pas de pic à glace en vue pourtant. La salle se divise en deux longues colonnes qui se font face à face, séparées de quelques centimètres les unes des autres. Et c’est parti pour dix minutes de “speed-dating” histoire de faire plus ample connaissance avec cette charmante personne qui se trouve en face de vous. La langue est décidément le meilleur moyen pour la faire fondre, la glace. Une troisième colonne, moins formelle, se forme près des tables où trônent suffisamment de viennoiseries pour rattraper un petit-déjeuner oublié ainsi que plusieurs litres de café. Lorsqu’au micro une petite voix se lève, « okay, now you can move on to the person on your left… », les discussions ne s’arrêtent pas pour autant. Difficile de lâcher prise une fois embarqué ! Les conversations oscillent au gré de thématiques simples lancées par la dame au micro : « Que faites-vous sur votre temps libre ? », « racontez une anecdote marrante qui s’est passée durant le projet ». C’est vrai, le small-talk sert à rapprocher avant tout, à créer des liens. On parle fort, avec de grands gestes, ou bien les mains dans les poches, on essaie de garder un eye-contact, on se rapproche pour mieux entendre et surtout comprendre, on se serre la main. Sourires et soleil inondent dans la salle.

With the communication done, all the members of all projects have a few minutes granted to personalize their totem - a mini-stand where their project is explained, in words and images. With post-it, feathers, with crepe-paper, scissors and pens the room becomes a gigantic manual workshop. Once the quenched creative madness, Europe gives an outstreched hand. My geography is slightly perturbed, and it is no use for the map of Nantes that extends all over the ground of the room. I make some steps forward, here I am in Georgia with Gubaz to discover the Together against discrimination’project. One step more to the left and I am in front of Julian and Nikolay, at the same time in Austria and in Bulgaria, to speak about Ride for your Rights. It’s swarming in all directions. By stretching out an ear we catch snatches of conversation in English and its improbable and approximate accents which it is sometimes necessary to untangle, even if in the end, we always understand. After several round trips between Romania and France, not knowing where to go, I stop in Italy. A small glimpse of the festival Youth Media Days – “Easy to organize” according to Flavia – which gathers numerous young motivated people, ready to find out solutions to their problems.

La communication lancée, tous les membres d’un projet se voient accorder quelques minutes pour personnaliser leur totem - un mini-stand où leur projet est expliqué, en mots et en images. À coups de post-it, de plumes, de papier crêpon, de ciseaux et de stylos la salle devient un gigantesque atelier manuel. Une fois la folie créatrice assouvie, l’Europe nous tend ses bras. Ma géographie est légèrement perturbée, et ce n’est pas la carte de Nantes qui s’étend sur tout le sol de la salle qui sera d’une quelconque utilité. Je fais quelques pas en avant, me voilà en Georgie avec Gubaz pour découvrir le projet Together against discrimination. Un peu plus à gauche, je suis devant Julian et Nikolay, à la fois en Autriche et en Bulgarie, pour parler de Ride for your Rights. Ça fourmille un peu dans tous les sens. En tendant l’oreille on attrape des bribes de conversations en anglais dont il faut parfois démêler les accents improbables et approximatifs, même si au final, on se comprend toujours. Après plusieurs aller-retours entre la Roumanie et la France, ne sachant où aller, je m’arrête en Italie. Petit aperçu du festival Youth Media Days – « Easy to organize » selon Flavia – qui a rassemblé de nombreux jeunes, motivés et prêts à trouver des solutions aux problèmes les concernant.

Every step leads to a new discovery. A country, a project, a group of persons to make it live. Once we meet, we can only hope that this contact goes on, brings to a robust collaboration, even for new projects. It doesn’t seem complicated to circulate in Europe.

À chaque pas, c’est une nouvelle découverte. Un pays, un projet, un groupe de personnes pour le faire vivre. Une fois la rencontre faite, on ne peut qu’espérer que ce contact se prolonge, amène à de solides collaborations et peut-être même à de nouveaux projets. Comme quoi ce n’est pas si compliqué de circuler en Europe.

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‘’Oh I would love to change the world, its many failings one by one, to be the artist, …’’ In this issue. But I’m not, unlike these who offer expression and diffusion tools. European initiatives whose process and singularity are now explained in this double-page spread. J’aurais voulu être un artiste pour pouvoir être dans ce numéro. Mais ce sont d’autres qui le sont, ou qui offrent des moyens d’expression et de diffusion. Et ce sont donc elles, associations européennes, qui prennent la place sur une double-page, afin d’expliquer leur démarche et leur singularité.

Crédits : Herby_fr (CC)

ART ATTACKS

LAURA - FRANCE De Nantes à Sevilla

TEONA - GERMANY Art stations

JULIE - FRANCE Zines of the zone

Because the artistic experience is something which affects us, we try hard to transform that sensibility into a medium of communication. The work on feelings, on human aspect of the being is not the only deed of an artistic creation. It has to allow us to reach the audience and make them want to meet each other. We wish harder to get in touch with projects structured around ‘social’ theater. The principle itself of our creation is transposable to other European cultures.

After the second South Ossetia War on 2008, we were looking for the best way of handling the theme of the Georgian conflict with the young mentally disabled people. Art emerged quickly from that study. Launched in 2010, this project of self-expression through art echoed with the 7 to 14 y.o children from schools and centers. Drawings, collages, paintings… Tools are as free as themes when we don’t choose them.

There is no better union than the love of the know-how and a sensitivity to the questions going through a photograph, to the way it can question. I like the link from an image to another, maybe it’s for that reason that I’ve felt a progressive interest for fanzines.. This mobile library through Europe will be the opportunity for us to act as mediators: how these independents work and succeed to question via that unique medium that is photo?

Parce que l’expérience artistique est quelque chose qui nous touche, nous nous efforçons de faire de cette sensibilité un moyen de communication. Le travail sur les émotions, sur l’aspect humain de l’Homme n’est pas la seule finalité d’une création artistique. Elle doit nous permettre d’atteindre le public et de donner envie de se rencontrer. Nous souhaitons davantage nous mettre en relation avec des projets autour du théâtre “social”. Le principe même de notre création est transposable à d’autres cultures européennes.

Après la deuxième guerre d’Ossétie du sud en 2008, nous sommes partis à la recherche de la meilleure manière de traiter le thème du conflit géorgien avec les jeunes handicapés mentaux. L’art est très rapidement ressorti de cette étude. Lancé en 2010, ce projet d’auto-expression par l’art a très vite fait écho auprès des enfants de 7 à 14 ans de centres et d’écoles. Dessins, collages, peinture… Les outils sont libres comme les thèmes lorsque nous ne les choisissons pas. - NCG 2013 -

Il n’y a pas meilleur couple que l’amour du savoir-faire et une sensibilité aux questions qui traversent une photo, à la manière dont elle interroge. J’aime le rapport d’une image à une autre, peut-être est-ce pour cela que je me suis progressivement tournée vers le fanzine. Cette bibliothèque itinérante à travers l’Europe sera d’ailleurs l’opportunité pour nous de nous poser en médiateurs : comment ces indépendants travaillent et parviennent à interroger via ce support qu’est la photo ?

Crédits : Lieven Soete (CC)

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ERNESTO - SWEDEN The city is yours

KEZIA - UNITED KINGDOM Flintshire theatre forum

MARTYNA - POLAND Exchange zone

Art is a tool to break segregations walls. We have to be original, to make our ideas reach. First in our city of Gothenburg and its twenty districts. Reach people from the city, the institutions too. For us, hip-hop is a platform to overcome prejudices and bond people from the suburbs with downtown. Because people there don’t feel welcome and nobody thinks anymore how to prevent it. The bond we want lays with the institutions; social issues are ignored, ethnic origins are more a problem than a valuable capital, and the only equality known is the gender equality. So we dance, we spread through mouvement our urge to change things, we teach future generations, eager to travel and discover, how to connect first with your city.

On stage, all barriers and stereotypes are repealed and young people can express themselves more easily. We use a theme, such as heritage from first World War , to create short and a bit provocative scenes to tackle them with society questions and make them interact with each other. It makes them feel more aware about the questions our dramas cause, and the messages are much more well got. We’re satisfied when people react, when they shout things out! For ethnic minorities, it sometimes means to be more confident. Theatre make them feel they can say more. They are right, and we’re here to encourage them.

Affiliated to university, we receive every month many Erasmus students coming from a chosen country that we accompany via workshops dedicated to different arts, under the shape of a visit, a quiz, a sharing.. A thematic dance show emerges that way every time but that’s not all. Students get also the possibility of a publication in the monthly student magazine BIS to review their trip. We offer them a glimpse of a possible new Erasmus in Poland, open them to cultural practices and encourage auto-expression and sharing that way.

L’art est un outil pour casser les murs de ségrégations. Nous devons être originaux, donner de la portée à nos idées. Pour nous, le hip-hop est une plate-forme qui permet de surmonter les préjugés et lier les gens de la banlieue avec la ville. Parce que les gens ne se sentent pas les bienvenus et personne ne pense désormais à la manière de l’empêcher. Le lien que nous voulons se trouve avec les institutions ; les questions sociales sont ignorées, les origines ethniques sont plus un problème qu’un capital, et la seule égalité connue est l’égalité des sexes. Donc nous dansons, nous propageons par le mouvement notre forte envie de changer les choses, nous enseignons aux générations futures, désireuses de voyager et découvrir, comment se connecter d’abord avec leur ville.

Sur scène, toutes les barrières et les stéréotypes sont abrogés et les jeunes peuvent s’exprimer plus facilement. Nous utilisons un thème, comme l’héritage de la Première Guerre mondiale, pour créer des scènes courtes et un peu provocantes, leur faire aborder des questions de société et les faire interagir, afin de leur donner conscience des questions soulevées par nos drames. Les messages sont ainsi bien mieux compris. Nous sommes satisfaits quand les gens réagissent, quand ils crient ! Pour des minorités ethniques, ça se traduit parfois par gagner en confiance. Le théâtre leur fait sentir qu’ils peuvent dire plus. Et ils ont raison : nous sommes ici pour les encourager.

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Affiliés à l’université, nous recevons chaque mois des étudiants en Erasmus provenant d’un pays choisi que nous accompagnons via des ateliers consacrés aux différents arts, qui prennent la forme d’une visite, d’un quiz, d’un échange.. Un spectacle thématique de danse voit ainsi le joue à l’issue de ces ateliers et les étudiants se voient octroyer la possibilité d’une publication dans le mensuel étudiant BIS afin de témoigner de leur séjour. Nous leur offrons un aperçu d’un possible Erasmus en Pologne, les ouvrons aux pratiques culturelles et encourageons l’auto-expression et le partage par ces biais.

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Bread and Rose +Panem et Zirkusens Rose + Exi(s)t is a theater project from Belgium including a performance and then a debate about the notions of commitment and expression. In Austria, the Zirkus Giovanni shows that art is a common thing where everyone can express by himself and build his own truth, inside a democratic organization. Is it commitment in art or engaged art?

Why did you choose art as center of your projects for both your associations?

Theresa (Zirkus Giovanni): I’ve chosen art because it’s a creative way to speak. Well, with Zirkus Giovanni, we don’t use language on the stage. We speak with our body and it’s a good way to communicate with many people from different countries. We can create, we can share, we can meet other people and get to know strangers. Sacha (Rose + Exi(s)t): My goal is to make people debate and confront their ideas. I want them to be able to think about life in general. Art is a way to approach a problem by opening gates, instead of reducing them to rationality. If you ask someone about a societal question, he or she will answer ‘I don’t know, I haven’t learned anything about it at school’. To be a complete humanbeing, I think you have to find the balance between the intellect and the body, the emotion and the reason. Art is a way to talk about the person you are. It’s emotional. Debate is more intellectual. Starting with art and then coming to debate works quite well. In both your projects, you involve people. You’re not only giving a performance. You need this relation with the public… T: For Zirkus, we have workshops before the show. After, it’s more in an informal conversation because we play on the streets

and people can come to us. There is place to communicate. Our main goal is to show them that they can do creative things by their own. It’s not hard to be an artist. We are not professionals. We are students, workers… S: I think art is nowadays conceived by most artists as a way to be under the projectors. But art is linked to the public and this is what we care about. In our theater, we do collective creations and the goal is to get in touch with the public, to make the audience open its mind and react. In our society, art is too much linked to mercantilism. That explains why we can find a connection between the two of you. Is it also a way to show how citizenship should work ? S: The theater I’m working with says that everyone can be an artist and that you can understand the show as much as someone who studied art in school. That’s the same for everything. If you want to think and express something, you can do it. It’s commitment to do things by yourself and not let the others do it for you. You don’t have to ‘eat’ art, like you don’t have to ‘eat’ speeches from politicians. You have to make your own answer. T: I don’t remember who said it, but I like this sentence: “Theater is the mirror of society.” Somehow, we also like to trigger the audience during our show. It’s one of our

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topics. We, as citizens, are aware of what moves us. We have this clap-machine act. People were really astonished at that precise moment. After the show, people spoke exclusively about it for a while, which proves that something happened and made them react, enough to keep on thinking about it once over. S: Yeah, it made their imagination work. They were connected at another level, above explanations. The art made them feel something. Theater is the place for it. T: And what was interesting was the fact that people asked us “What did you mean?” and we… “Don’t know. What did you see? What’s your interpretation?” We were twelve people to prepare this, everybody had his own truth. People can make their own mind, their own pictures. They reflect this, they think about this… S: … and people are not used to that. In our theater, we ask people: ‘What do you see?’ And some are saying “That’s a table’, others ‘Not, that’s a chair”. Everyone gives his own interpretation. At the end, we close the debate and they ask… Together: “What was the truth?” S: But they already said it. It’s not because I wrote a piece of art that I know its meaning. It’s not the purpose.

Crédits : gauche, Tony Alter (CC). Droite, Thomaz Wood Jr (CC)

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You better knock, knock, knock on wood

Tu ferais mieux de toucher du bois

To gather people from Nantes to be receptive about ‘eco-responsability’, ECOS combine art and ecology. Why art? Because projects of this association often start from the imagination of a former student of Beaux-arts. Architects, graphic designers, volunteers of the association shape theses ideas. Adjustable structures made of recyclable matters, music instruments, experimental gardens and others compost bins illustrate these projects. Following the idea of stands created for this edition of NCG forum. And if these realisations are not enough, ECOS proposes some cooking natural gardening classes. Its responsibility works with an environmental approach, for which the association have, through workshops, to make the audience receptive. From Nantes and elsewhere. Working on the playful aspect of open-structures, it offers the possibility to download from its website some DIY plans. To give matter to create, inspire and garant a field of action more than local. From sharing to collaborations, these can lead to european projects like ALOTOF (ECOS but also OKNO gardens and hives fitters for Belgian cities, or the Czech YO-YO association are a member of it), intended to work the outer spaces by crossing various disciplines, technologies of the media and artistic tools. A responsible project thus holds from an ecological consciousness but also a talent of its carrier to front the public.

Pour sensibiliser les habitants de Nantes autour de l’ “écoresponsabilité”, ECOS allie art et écologie. Pourquoi l’art ? Parce que les projets d’ECOS partent souvent eux-mêmes de l’imaginaire d’un ancien des Beaux-arts. Des architectes, graphistes, et bénévoles de l’association sculptent les idées. Des structures réglables faites en matières recyclables, des instruments de musique, des jardins expérimentaux et autres bacs à compost illustrent ces projets. Comme l’idée de stands créés pour cette édition de forum NCG. Et si ces réalisations ne sont pas assez, ECOS propose quelques formations au jardinage naturel et autres ateliers de cuisine. Leur responsabilité tient d’une démarche environnementale pour laquelle l’association, sous forme d’ateliers, cherche à sensibiliser le public de Nantes (et d’ailleurs). Travaillant sur l’aspect ludique des open-structures et du mobilier, elle offre même la possibilité de télécharger via leur site internet, des plans à réaliser soi-même. Donner de la matière pour créer, inspirer et s’assurer un champ d’action plus que local. D’échanges en collaborations peuvent naître des projets européens comme celui de ALOTOF (ECOS mais aussi OKNO, poseur de jardins et de ruches citadines en Belgique, ou l’association tchèque YOYO en font partie), destiné à travailler les espaces extérieurs en croisant différentes disciplines, technologies des médias et outils artistiques. Un projet responsable tient donc d’une conscience écologique mais aussi du talent de son porteur à le confronter au public.

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Twelve young people from Nantes, divided in groups of three left in four different countries last summer. Destinations: Italy, Germany, Finland and Poland, to be greeted by associations formely participants of ‘Nantes Creative Generations’ past editions. Lucky them. On the program of the second ‘NCG on Tour’: visits, change of scene and immersion inside one of these associative projects presented last year. This discovery of a country and its distinct culture allows a language level-up (english, by default) but also adds some value to the project by fronting it to other points of view: “The associative perception seems different from a country to another, right, but the purpose stays the same: some common experiences shared, whether you like it or not, and the messages sent from the project meet at last, allowing us to move forward in cooperation.” To Paul, left to Helsinki (FIN), the lack of time and absence of Finnish knowledge could have complicated the trip. But it hasn’t been the case with Utopia Helsinki’s associative project: organising musical and dancing events for Finnish audiences in minority, like disabled people or lesbian and gay communities. A few hours of plane from there, Nathalie got her connection with Link association, in Altamura (ITA) which aims to “develop a notion of sharing via many workshops to envisage then to create actions”. Link offers the possibility of intercultural exchanges and promotes international mobility. For Nathalie, these meetings were “very inspiring for a personal project of public awareness of society questions through the dance”. Inspired in your art or inspired by art? The question sounds tricky but the answer can be much more simple. “With language barrier, arts are sometimes a more obvious language. Dance and music for instance allow to approach, share and communicate around associative project with different nationalities.” And the numerous Finnish break-dance short movies shot by Paul can’t actually contradict his words. Everyone from Nantes had the same opportunity to compile a part of his or her experience on an audio, photo or video medium. With positive reviews for summer 2013 and what it seemed being a good journey, the continuity of this NCG forum leads to motivate more exchanges, doesn’t it? Well, according to testimonies, it’s still ‘easily attained.’

GO ON TOUR ?