MÉTHODOLOGIE (METHODOLOGY)
François Aubart, Laure Limongi, Nadine Le Rigoleur, Marielle Chabal
The methodology seminar is designed for 3rd year students to initiate, extend and enrich a cross-disciplinary reflection on the media and tools favoured by each student, focusing on methodological questions with a view to the dissertation to be produced in 4th year. Rather than understanding methodology as a set of rules to be applied at all times and in all places, the intention will be to grasp it as a set of tools to be invented, criticised and/or diverted, according to the circumstances of production and thought, just as the method will be understood as the aim of artistic work and/or research itself.
Hosted by teachers from the school whose practices range from art history to literature, performance to exhibition, and by the head of the documentation centre, each session will be an opportunity for contextual and specific reflection, starting from both their research and your practices, on the tools we invent to carry out artistic projects and reflections.
PROFESSIONNAL DEVELOPMENT
Camille Kingué
Schedule:
— The seminar will take place once a month on Fridays, in week A or week B depending on the speakers. Pending confirmation, the dates will be specified at a later date. Some of the meetings will take place in Paris.
The aim of the professional development seminar is to provide an overview of the various actors in the field of contemporary art, including gallery owners, art critics and exhibition curators, and to put them in touch with the school’s students. It is an opportunity to understand the environment in which each of these actors works.
SESSION 1 – 24 OCTOBER 2025
Group visits to the Paris Internationale and Offscreen contemporary art fairs
— Paris Internationale (https://parisinternationale.com/)
— Offscreen (https://offscreenparis.com/fr)
SESSION 2 – NOVEMBER 2025
WORKSHOP: WHAT STATUS SHOULD YOU CHOOSE AS AN ARTIST?
Interview with a member of the Maison des Artistes + 1 guest
This workshop is intended to be a practical workshop that will enable participants to understand the different types of artist status that exist and which is the most advantageous to subscribe to. The workshop will also be an opportunity to discuss the current status of artist-auteur, which is still the subject of union demands and debates concerning the protection it offers. This meeting between a member of a rights management society and a critical thinker will be an opportunity to raise these various issues.
SESSION 3 – DECEMBER 2025
MEETING WITH THE TEAM FROM THE RICARD FOUNDATION AND THE HENRI CARTIER-BRESSON FOUNDATION ON THE SUBJECT OF ART PRIZES.
The Ricard Foundation will not be renewing its prize in 2026 or in the following years. The Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation, meanwhile, has launched a new prize for self-published photography books. Why would one institution choose to discontinue a prize while another launches a new one?
— https://www.fondation-pernod-ricard.com/fr
—https://www.henricartierbresson.org/
SESSION 4 – JANUARY 2026
WORKSHOP: HOW TO WRITE ABOUT YOUR WORK?
With Ana Bordenave, art critic and project manager.
This practical workshop will enable participants to acquire the basics of writing about their practice. Ana Bordenave will provide an overview of the different forms of reviewing (articles, exhibition texts, etc.) and give participants the tools they need to present their own work.
Ana Bordenave has a degree in Art History from the Sorbonne and in Film Theory from the University of Paris 8 and has studied gender studies at university. She analyses contemporary creation through her areas of specialisation: feminist studies and gender studies, with a focus on the material and social conditions of artists. Since 2016, she has contributed to various cultural media outlets such as Manifesto XXI, Mouvement, LeChassis, Acumen, and AWARE. She was a research associate at the BnF from 2018 to 2021, working on the work of experimental artists and filmmakers Maria Klonaris and Katerina Thomadaki, and conducted research on the magazine Sorcières (1975-1982), part of which was published on the Perséide FemEnRev. Alongside her work, she was co-president of Contemporaines, a French association fighting gender discrimination in art created in 2019, within which she founded an annual mentoring programme for female artists and gender minorities entitled ‘Passerelles’.
SESSION 5 – FEBRUARY 2026
MEETING WITH LES BAINS DOUCHES AND MÉCÈNES DU SUD – THE IMPORTANCE OF EXHIBITION SPACES THAT SUPPORT YOUNG CREATORS.
Exhibitions in institutions (art centres, museums, etc.) are not just reserved for mid-career or established artists. As young artists, it is also possible to be shown in solo or group exhibitions in exhibition spaces. Les Bains Douches and Mécènes du Sud, one public and the other private, are two spaces that aim to support young artists. We will meet with a representative from each of these two institutions to discuss their strategy and artistic direction.
— https://bainsdouches.net/
— http://www.mecenesdusud.fr/
SESSION 6 – MARCH 2026
PORTFOLIO + COMMUNICATION WORKSHOP
In this workshop, participants will learn key skills for building a portfolio and communicating about their work.
SESSION 7 – MAY 2026
YOUNG CREATION INTERNATIONALLY WITH MUDAM AND KANAL POMPIDOU
Until now, the meetings and workshops offered have been exclusively focused on the domestic French scene. This meeting with two people working abroad in French-speaking areas is an opportunity to broaden the horizons of young creation and understand how things work elsewhere.
— https://www.mudam.com/fr
— https://kanal.brussels/fr/homepage-2
Method: The meetings will take place in the amphitheatre of the École Nationale Supérieure d’Arts de Paris-Cergy or outside. The purpose of the outings is to introduce enrolled students to venues on the Parisian scene, both inside and outside the city. Speakers are chosen on the basis of their connection to the school and their support for emerging creativity.
VALEUR D’ÉCHANGE ET L’ART INCONDITIONNEL — REPARTIR DE ZÉRO À CHAQUE FOIS (EXCHANGE VALUE AND UNCONDITIONAL ART — STARTING FROM SCRATCH EVERY TIME)
Lead teacher: Nataliya Ilchuk
Seminar on the work of artists in the age of technological automation and economic valorisation.
Faced with the challenges posed by new technologies and politico-economic crises to the artist’s work, this seminar aims to identify paths to professional integration and self-employment after graduating from art school. How to avoid conforming to expectations in order to preserve one’s authenticity, how to find the conditions to produce works in a unique way rather than on a conveyor belt, and more specifically how to manage psycho-physiological factors, are the main themes of this seminar, which is rooted in the sharing of experiences and the study of multimodal approaches in the history of art and arts economy. With an emphasis on the ideas of degrowth, contributory economics, working with archives and recycling, the ‘Exchange Values’ seminar focuses on exploring models of artistic production that are both economically viable and ecologically sustainable.
