2017 - Ancestors at La Courneuve

Creation around the Ancestors at the Collège Jean-Vilar of La Courneuve

Since 2012, the series of participatory workshops Ancestors has offered an exploration of the diversity of trajectories that led our ancestors towards this or that place and through writing, sculpture and theatrical performances has scrutinized the deep and invisible ties that we maintain with them.
This was the first time that the collective had offered young people the possibility of participating in an Ancestors workshop, and the resulting works present a rougher and less realistic character that interests us; it contrasts with the neat aesthetics of other opuses.

After a discussion of the difficulties raised by a project touching so closely on each person’s identity, which could change the group’s view of each individual, seventeen third-year students told stories of their real or imagined ancestors, before sculpting them and presenting them in front of the camera. The experience would not have been possible without the active participation of two teachers, Aude Larnaudie-Eiffel in history and Marie Lévy in French. Ancestors of La Courneuve was conducted from September 2016 to May 2017 and benefitted from a partnership with the Diplomatic Archives located very near the school. It was an opportunity for the students, guided by Sébastien Delelis, to discover the resources of this place. Reflecting the diversity of the students’ origin, the statuettes take us from the Comoros to Mali, from Senegal to Mauritania, from Paris to Morocco and Tunisia; from China and Laos to Pakistan. Their heroes are farmers, street vendors, musicians, grocers, holy men or scoundrels: since it was recalled that ancestors were first of all, sometimes unruly, children.

Ancetres à la Courneuve des Grandes Personnes sur Vimeo.

Film de Quentin Blondel

With: AHBIB Ibrahim, AUZIM Azima, BA Warakhia, BACHIR Sana, BOUABDLLAH Lisa, CHASSAING Sofian, DAR Aisha, DIOP Adel, HAMMOUDI Aymane, HUANG Lucie, LY Mamoudou, MAHFOUD Nawel, MOUNIB Salim, PHRAKORNKHAM Dany, YAOU Aicha

Photos and video : Quentin Blondel
Writing workshop led by: Jean-Baptiste Evette
Sculpture and performance workshop led by: Christophe Evette
With the support of Maëlle Lignier, Yabako Konaté and Valentina Torres

This project was supported by the Diplomatic Archives and the department of Seine-Saint-Denis (Micaco funding