Why did you decide to join IESA arts&culture?
It was the promise of a professionalizing program that made me choose this school. After three years of art history at the École du Louvre I could have continued in a research master’s, but careers in culture interest me more. I learned fascinating things in art history and I simply want to be able to take part in projects that will let me share my interest in art with a diverse audience. The possibility of doing a part-time internship immediately propelled me into the concrete world of work in the cultural sphere, and it is really motivating to attend classes that directly become concrete in one way or another. Taking part in developing an exhibition is very formative. It is typically the kind of project that I would like to support or carry out afterward. This is what I was looking for to crown very theoretical studies with the Master in Cultural Heritage and Tourism.
What is your role in organizing the "Gardens" exhibition?
For the sake of organization and clarity, we have divided the exhibition "Gardens: Art of Living and Know-How" into several sections. I am responsible for one of them, so I have to write its presentation for the press kit and the one that will be displayed in the exhibition room.
I was also fortunate to find a work that was missing from our corpus, to organize its transport to Paris and then to write the notice that will appear in the exhibition’s online catalog. Each student must also write a few notices for works, and to do so I am in contact with the collectors who lend them to us. It is very rewarding to be able to talk with the enthusiast or professional who knows their objects and their context well. We must also all produce a portrait of a garden and/or gardener that will be presented during this exhibition. I therefore chose to present that of the Bois des Moutiers in Varengeville-sur-Mer, a magnificent place where I had the good fortune to work as a guide one summer and which I am delighted to present differently as part of this exhibition, alongside other exceptional gardens.
I was also tasked, with another student, to contact online cultural calendars to ask them to list our exhibition so that the information would be widely distributed.
Can you tell us more about this event (initial ambition, partnership, student involvement…)?
The initial ambition of this exhibition is that of Mr. David Brouzet, our professor in charge of the project. At our first meeting, he already had a very precise idea of what the exhibition would be and of what we would present in it. His wish is to offer a quick overview of the garden arts and of what life in a garden involves (landscape architect plans, gardening tools, portraits of fine gardeners, garden enthusiast’s cabinet, interviews with contemporary gardeners, toy theaters, etc.). We were fortunate to meet several collectors who are lending us high-quality works and supporting this project.
The challenge was to carry out this project in a particularly short time. Every student is committed to offering a quality exhibition, as professional as possible. That is why we are all invested and each takes their role(s) to heart: writing and laying out the press kit, finding partners, distributing information to the press, writing the notice for each work, meeting with the collectors as well as with the gardeners who are the subject of a personal presentation, creating the online catalog, social media communication (Facebook and Instagram), organizing the events that will revolve around the exhibition (lectures, readings, etc.), creating the poster and invitation cards, etc.
The initial ambition is grand, and it had to be made real within the time, place and means we had. Everyone gives of themselves, and we hope to offer the public an interesting visit that feeds curiosity and inspires the wonder we all feel in front of nature.