Two Alumnae, Lucile Buès and Sujee Godard, Created a Charitable Association, Solil’art, for Their Real-Scale Project at IESA!
They kept the structure created during their studies to develop its activity. It is an association creating events, notably in collaboration with the Secours Populaire français. They organized an event combining an exhibition, a designers' market, workshops, a hygiene product drive, and a concert! They tell us more about Solil’art.
Which program did you complete at IESA arts&culture?
Lucile and I completed a Master in Contemporary Art Market at IESA.
What happened after IESA arts&culture? Can you tell us about your career path?
Sujee: After IESA, we continued developing our association "Solil’art" and worked on organizing two events, a first edition in Rennes and a second in Nantes, both of which were canceled because of Covid. So we tried to imagine a new format for our association and new projects that would fit the current health situation, which prevents us from organizing artistic and charitable events.
Among other things, we created a website and set up new projects. For my part, I completed a 9-month civic service at the Secours populaire de Paris.
Lucile: After IESA, I worked in a gallery in the 6th arrondissement while continuing to work with Sujee on Solil’art. After the event held in Nantes, I quickly realized that I wanted to be completely freelance and organize my own projects. Despite the second event being canceled, we did not give up on anything. It allowed us to launch a website and lay out our ideas for what comes next!
How Did You Create Solil’art?
We created Solil’art during our second year of the Master. At first, we organized small exhibitions in partnership with public venues, presenting young artists. Later, we wanted to organize a small art festival and above all to link art with solidarity. With this project, we wanted to show that art is a driver of commitment for artists and the public. Our goal with Solil’art is to highlight artists' work and make it accessible and visible by approaching public venues willing to host them and not necessarily artistic by vocation, in order to bring together a wide audience. We are convinced that art is a real shortcut to discovering oneself, but also others and our environment. The challenge is simple: part of the event’s profits is donated to a partner association. Our first edition took place at the Solilab in Nantes and we created a partnership with the Secours populaire in Nantes. This first event went well, we loved organizing it! We received encouraging feedback, which pushed us to continue the Solil’art adventure!
What Are Solil’art’s Goals for the Next Two Years?
As part of Solil’art, we are setting up an online charitable art platform with two e-shops. The first e-shop, called "Sauv’art," is based on an "upcycled art" concept: it features damaged and unsold works that are still usable, collected from artists who want to join the movement! We then put these works on sale on our site at low prices depending on their condition. The goal is to give a second life to a work destined to be thrown away or forgotten at the back of a studio.
The second e-shop is a classic one, offering new works for sale.
For these two e-shops, as for our events, part of the sales profits goes to a charity or a charitable project of general interest, a partner of Solil’art.
The first uploads to our website www.solilart.org are planned for March. Our goals: for Sauv’art to become a reflex for artists with damaged works they don’t know what to do with, but also for "charitable art," access to art and culture everywhere, for everyone, to grow through our future events in various cities. We also want to keep creating partnerships with associations and committed projects close to our hearts and to showcase artists who inspire us.
Lucile & Sujee
Photo: Lucile Buès, Axel André, @axelart on Instagram, an artist who takes part in Sauv’art by donating works, and Sujee Godard.
