4 Days of Inspiration and Creativity

Taking place on a quarterly basis, the concept of Emploi du Temps (which translates to ‘time table’ in English) revolves around 4 days of workshops, all of which are governed by the pleasure of learning and sharing. Created by four personalities from various backgrounds; the painter (Alexandra Roussopoulos), the graphic designer (Caroline Magre), the photographer (Julien Magre) and the astrophysicist (Matthieu Gounelle).

The aim of these days would be to rediscover the urge to indulge in moments of pleasure, to discover other worlds, to experience other practices whether they be intellectual, linguistic, artistic or culinary. By placing human experience and research at the centre of our lives. Without any urgency or pressure. It is about seizing time rather than letting it slip away. Rediscovering the time of childhood, full of upcoming promises and a desired unknown.

We wish to recreate the Parisian spirit of salons when, in the 18th century, quality people would meet and discuss current affairs in politics, science, literature or art, in an atmosphere of freedom and curiosity. At the time, French was a language shared by all. Our discussions will take place in the language of Molière, including several workshops specifically directed towards the further study of French language with Elisabeth Bettencourt, who specialises in teaching French as a foreign language.

Each encounter will lead to discussions, shared readings, screenings, talks as well as visits of artist studios or exhibitions. Artists, scientists, filmmakers, illustrators, writers, photographers, graphic designers will all be possible contributors, depending on the theme that is chosen, falling within varied fields such as art, research, literature, cinema, theatre, or dance. Food will be celebrated with daily picnics and a closing dinner party prepared by the chef Pascale Moretti.

The making of such a space for exchange nevertheless requires organisation. That is, a timetable, although this term should, of course, be approached with humour and tenderness— the tenderness of a joyful return to childhood and to its learning environment. A timetable that is slightly off-beat, so that everyone can get out of the frame with joy and depth.

The Participants

Elisabeth Bettencourt

was born in 1970. She is the creator of teaching methods for French as a foreign language. She holds a Bachelor degree in Chinese and Tibetan from INALCO (the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations), a BA in language sciences — specialising in French as a foreign language —, from Université Paris Descartes and a DAEFLE (certificate for teaching French as a foreign language) from the Alliance française.

In 2011, she created a language school called ‘The French Lesson’ which provides courses directed to an anglophone, adult audience. The French Lesson conceives teaching programs for companies (Chanel), administrations (the US embassy in Paris), and individual tutoring. Since February 2018, she has worked with the L’atelier des artistes en exil (which translates to ‘The studio of exiled artists’) to develop and co-ordinate the training course ‘Learning French through art’, in partnership with Parisian museums – dedicated to asylum seekers and refugees.

Her pedagogy is inspired by the works of Célestin Freinet, Monique Callamand, Elisabeth Lhote, N.S Troubetskoï, Ferdinand Brunot and Petar Guberina. The implementation of her teaching is based on a multidisciplinary team consisting of French as a foreign language teachers, phoneticians, comedians, speech therapists, writers, poets, philosophers…

Matthieu Gounelle

was born in 1971. He is a professor of cosmochemistry at the National Museum of Natural History (MNHN) in Paris and a member of the Institut Universitaire de France. He leads the cosmochemistry research group of the MNHN and directs the national meteorites collection. He has authored more than 100 scientific papers and three monographies.

He was awarded the Nier Prize by the Meteoritical Society in 2006 and the asteroid 1981 ET22 was named ‘Gounelle’ which is a tribute to his work.

He has curated the exhibition ‘Meteorites our most distant memories’, which took place at the Galerie épisodique in February 2016 in Paris and he is the curator of the exhibition  ‘Meteorites, from sky to earth’ at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, which opened in October 2017.

He has published two books of poetry in collaboration with the artist Alexandra Roussopoulos. He recently released a collection of poems published by Les Éditions Derrière La Salle de Bains and another in collaboration with the photographer Julien Magre, published by Filigranes Éditions.

Caroline Magre

was born in 1975 in Tulle. After graduating from the Arts Décoratifs de Paris, she evolved professionally in the luxury sector, working for prestigious houses like Yves Saint Laurent, Louis Vuitton and Givenchy. Working alongside Tom Ford at Yves Saint Laurent, or Donald Schneider (who is now the artistic director of H&M), she learned the rigour and excellence required from the field.

In 2003, she joined Chanel first as the head of publishing activities, then dedicated herself to new technologies and video. In 2009, she decided to start her own graphic design studio, white papier studio, and has since conceived books for artists such as William Klein, Antoine d’Agata, Mohammed Bourouissa or Ali Kazma.

She is a partner of the BAL and works on regular basis for the likes of Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume, the Mairie de Paris and the Centre Georges-Pompidou… amongst many other Parisian galleries. In parallel, she teaches artistic direction at the Instituto Marangoni for master’s degrees in communication, marketing and clothes design.

In 2015, Caroline was appointed head of communication at the carpet and tapestry company Pinton.

Julien Magre

was born in 1973. While studying at the Arts Décoratifs de Paris, he began photographing a young woman who became the mother of his children and the main character of a story that turned into a book in 2010 – titled “Caroline Histoire numéro deux”, published by éditions Filigranes.

Talking about this project, which he has developed for the past fifteen years, the photographer describes himself as a “spectator of [his] own intimacy”: choosing the right distance with his subject, which meant being neither too distant, nor too close. He documents his everyday life, thereby rendering it poetical.

In parallel, and with the same desire to translate the world while attaching a theatrical, fictional and oneiric (relating to dreams or dreaming) interpretation to it, Julien Magre works on photography series that are less explicitly autobiographical: landscapes, nature, and its slow transformation into urban territory, or the way it is altered by man. He has recently published, with Matthieu Gounelle (scientist and author), a book of poetry titled ‘Si du ciel ne restait qu’une seule pierre’ and that translates to ‘If only one stone remained’. This was published by éditions Filigranes.

Pascale Moretti

was born in 1963 in Paris. After a 30-year professional career — the first 10 years in the field of contemporary art, and the next 20 years managing a publishing house specialised in lighting and furniture, in 2017 she engaged in a new project that better fitted her personality and our time.

Following training at Ferrandi (the School of French gastronomy) and a professional experience with the 3-star chef Guy Savoy at his Monnaie de Paris restaurant, she started ‘La petite Madeleine’, which offers sharing experiences around traditional French pastries, a gustatory trip that makes us travel back to the roots of childhood snacks. She later went on to develop a catering service, as well as a coaching and team-building programme and pastry-making workshop. These involved creating connections between baking, art and design, in association with contemporary visual artists.

Joël Person

was born in 1962 in Abidjan (the Ivory Coast); he lives and works in Paris. Graduating from l’École Nationale des Beaux-Arts de Paris. As a painter and a drawer, he combines, in his compositions, the classical purity of the line and the rare intensity of expression.

He has participated in numerous artist residencies from Slovenia (Medana), Ireland (Heinrich Böll cottage) to China (Zhangjiajie). His recent exhibitions include:

• Bibelot Summer Show at the Wendy Galerie, Paris (2018)
• Salo VI in Juin, Paris (2018)
• Art is Hope  – For Aids Paris (2017)
• L’Envers du Réel at On Galerie & Galerie 24B, Paris (2017)

Joël Person has also exhibited in China in to places such as the Piffo Gallery (Xiamen), the Yard Gallery (Shanghai) and the National Wetland Museum of China (Hangzhou).

His work is part of the Hermès Collection as well as many other international private collections.

Alexandra Roussopoulos

was born in Paris in 1969; she is of Swiss and Greek descent. Through painting, she re-explores the relationship between shape, color and space. Her work has always reflected the importance of the connections with others. She regularly engages in artistic collaborations and has participated in numerous artist residencies in China, Greece, Ireland, Slovenia, and Algeria.

She has taken part in several international projects including the works at the art center APDV, which places artistic action at the heart of low-income housing areas. She has curated several exhibitions such as L’Eau et les Rêves (Galerie Kamchatka, Paris, 2007) and Switzerland (Musée d’art et d’histoire de Neuchâtel.

Alexandra was awarded the visual arts prize of the René Liechti Foundation in Switzerland in 2010 and the Novembre à Vitry painting prize in 2002. She regularly takes part in workshops in France and abroad.

Practical Information

The first session of L’emploi du temps will take place in the 16th arrondissement in Paris, in an artist studio (1, 2) that is close to Place du Trocadéro, from Tuesday 12 to Friday 15 November 2019.

Four day workshop: 2000 euros / 8 guests per booking maximum

 

 [email protected]