Programming

Sub-event of

Jennifer Alleyn and Raphaëlle de Groot

1 June — 6 February 2021

Opening doors to a virtual studio space, Jennifer and Raphaëlle invite us to a pool. What would you share about yourself? An object? A letter? A tool? A question?

Step by step

Following a call posted on social medias and via DARE-DARE's newsletter, 40 participants got together to take part in activities and exercises of Atelier ouvert.

Neither artistic training nor internship, this open workshop was intended to be a space for reflection and creation, on the notion of biography in artistic practice. Read a text from Renata Azevedo Moreira on the project.

Some exercises were offered by means of audio capsules detailing the procedure for the participants to follow, at their own pace, at home. Others were moderated by Jennifer Alleyn and Raphaëlle de Groot through sessions on Zoom. The "neutral" and the "blind portrait" were directed by the duologists, at the rate of 3 sessions of 45 min per day, over two days (6 sessions).

Meetings on Zoom, at the opening and closing of the event, were also offered to participants and then as a replay (available as video documentation).

A cloud page, housed on the Dare-Dare site and specially dedicated to the project, was put online. On this secret page, access to which was reserved for participants only, the results of the exercises were shared on a daily basis. Different formats were accepted: images, videos, sound clips, texts. Ordered by date and by exercise, results were available for consultation by all participants. Due to the enthusiasm of the participants, a large number of documents were made and the two artists sorted the results. Due to the weight and size of the files, only a selection of the shared items were published on the cloud page. The selection, however, made it possible to appreciate the diversity of gestures and actions taken by the participants.

The workshop, originally designed to take place in a physical workshop - that of Jennifer Alleyn in Montreal - was forced by the pandemic to turn into a virtual event. What was initially seen as a flaw turned out to be a liberating option. The formula allowed participants to create while remaining in their space (home, workshop) and to share their results at their convenience. The shares were made by e-mail, sent to Atelier ouvert address.

With the notion of bio-graphy, and of the self-disclosure that the exercises involved, the fact of participating through the screen seems to have allowed people to invest more, by following a rhythm of creation personal to each one, without preferably nocturnal or diurnal.


Blank page

The group brought together by Atelier ouvert, bringing together very diverse backgrounds and profiles, quickly rallied to the "safe space", "non finito" aspect of the workshop. Thus, the sketches and creations were welcomed on the cloud page as well as more important proposals. It was above all a question of stimulating reflection and sharing a reading of the notion of bio-graphy, nourished by the multiple perspectives present.

Following the participatory success of Atelier ouvert, it was decided to extend the activities with the initial group, in collaboration with DARE-DARE, over a full year, adding two two-day workshop sessions.

The elements now shared on this public page invite you to exercise in your turn, at your own pace, around the proposed activities.


Selected excerpts from participants' contributions

Exercise: La maison - La fouille

Restitution: La maison - La fouille

Exercise: Le nom

Restitution: Le nom

Lecture of Monic's email

Exercise: L'école

Exercise: Le récit