I am happy to learn that IESA arts&culture is launching a new program
5-year post-baccalaureate program in heritage promotion and cultural tourism. It was in fact the option I followed in 3rd year of the Bachelor in Cultural Productions and Mediation with Marc Puig, around the project to promote the medieval mound of Chaumont-en-Vexin. It is a most exciting subject.
My career since leaving IESA in 2008 has been very varied. I left the Paris region for the shores of Lake Geneva in 2010 to join the Fondation Ripaille in Thonon-les-Bains. I was hired as part of an INTERREG France-Switzerland project between the Château de Ripaille and the Château de Chillon (near Montreux)
My position as Cultural Development Officer let me work on several facets of heritage careers. In collaboration with the Foundation’s administrator, I developed mediation materials for audiences (creating visit guides, educational kits, multilingual materials, etc.). I also reworked the visitor route by incorporating the new rooms (the Amédée Treasure Room and the video room), while introducing new signage throughout the Château. We also set up a support card for the Fondation Ripaille, which helps build audience loyalty.
In addition, I have now been working for 2 years at La Châtaignière, a departmental art and culture estate, for the Haute-Savoie General Council. I hold the position of Audience Relations Officer, with the main mission of broadening audiences. Depending on the exhibition on view, my outreach and promotion work varies, which lets me reach different types of audiences each year.
Rigor, curiosity, and passion are essential skills for careers in Culture. It is a sector that demands real personal commitment and a very high standard of organization.
Through its action-based learning, IESA let me do internships that, complementing the high-quality theoretical teaching, were a real keystone in building my career. By giving students the chance to lead real-life projects, IESA gives us both the technical know-how of putting a project together and the assurance, the confidence, and real support, without which we might never have embarked on project ideas that are sometimes astonishing!
To sum up, I think it is the quality of the teaching, and the faith and support in its students that make IESA such a special school.