The renovation of a dovecote to make artists, participants and endangered bird species cohabit.
This project takes place in Lizières, a center for residences and cultural activities in a territory in devitalization, which is also home to several species of
endangered birds. The aim is to renovate an abandoned dovecote (eco-construction) in order to facilitate the cohabitation of birds, artists and participants, to create a shelter for birds and for participative experiments, notably bioacoustics. The objective is to converge artistic avant-garde and renewed attention to the living.
Local
France
Épaux-Bézu, Hauts-de-France
Mainly rural
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
No
No
As a representative of an organization, in partnership with other organisations
Name of the organisation(s): Les Amis de Lizières Type of organisation: Non-profit organisation First name of representative: Thomas Last name of representative: Vauthier Age: 29 Please attach a copy of your national ID/residence card:
By ticking this box, I certify that the information regarding my age is factually correct. : Yes Gender: Male Nationality: France Function: Director Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: 22 rue Jean et Marie Moinon Town: Paris Postal code: 75010 Country: France Direct Tel:+33 6 69 03 39 61 E-mail:vauthier.thomas@gmail.com Website:https://thomasvauthier.fr/
Lizières is a multifaceted and evolving project that takes its inspiration from natural edges, which are fertile hotbeds of biodiversity. The objective of this place is to develop bridges between nature and culture, positioning itself as a laboratory, a breeding ground for reflections between the arts, philosophies, life sciences and physical practices through a program made of residencies, participative projects (aimed at fragile audiences) and events (shows, exhibitions, conferences, workshops). These different activities take place in an exceptional domain in the heart of nature, which is home to several species of birds, some of which are endangered.
Since the 1960s (Rachel Carson, Silent Spring), we have witnessed a decline in biodiversity due to the techniques of appropriation of the territory developed by
intensive agriculture and human industries. We live in a damaged world, marked by a crisis of sensitivity, where the songs of birds are disappearing, becoming a
sign of the uninhabitability of our contemporary world. Going against the prevailing logic of our time, we wish to develop a precursory project, aiming to
renovate the abandoned dovecote of the domain in order to propose an interface of cohabitation (a room and a library) and care for our neighbors, the
bird. The renovation of the dovecote will be done in an eco-responsible and participatory manner (at all stages of the realization, including a collaboration with an architecture school students) and will constitute a perfect matrix to expose and let oneself be touched by animal forms of life and creation. Various experiences will be offered by resident artists to invited audiences: listening sessions and guided walks by ornithologists, field-recording / bio-acoustic workshops, performances, exhibitions, and so on. The central stake of this project is therefore to converge artistic avant-garde and new modes of attention in order to re-enchant our relationship with the living.
Birds
Co-habiting
Care
Art
Phonocene
Lizières is located in the domain of the Château d'Épaux, which has been renovated according to the principles of eco-design, after a long period of
vacancy (more than 50 years). Such temporary abandonment has allowed the development of a rare biodiversity, particularly noticeable in the populations of
birds that inhabit it, filling the soundscape with their beautiful songs. This place is adjacent to a forest, classified as a natural park, for which Lizières is
responsible for its preservation and animation. The Bird Protection League (LPO) has discovered a multitude of species, of which 4 are endangered and 8 to be
protected. These different elements talk to our sense of responsibility and so we propose a solution to work towards their safeguard and to raise awareness of
these issues among as many people as possible.
Eco-sensitization: the whole stake of this project is to re-develop a culture of the living, to re-enchant our relationship with the various beings that we live with.
We wish to create an ecological niche, favoring the development of new ways of thinking and acting, turned towards care. That is to say, to dare the bet -
eminently political - of the cohabitation. To implement a form, of conjugality, from which the birds will compose.
Eco-construction: we wish to minimize the footprint, the burden, of the human in this enterprise, by privileging the least invasive activities: eco-construction,
minimal renovations (by taking care of the already existing heritage rather than building from scratch), frugality, sourced and local materials (salvaged
materials, poor materials, with low entropy, biodegradable) As for the birds' habitat, their niches, we will work in a participative way, by reconstituting the
boulins in the ceramic workshop of Lizières, using local clay.
We believe in the power of art to change mentalities, and hope that this project will be the matrix for creative forms that can participate in this necessary paradigm shift.
The building of the dovecote will be an aesthetic and experiential matrix: both in its frugality (which can be considered as an ethical value in our Anthropocene:
reuse, DIY, deconsumption); on the other hand, by its function as a place to live (cohabitation with birds as a multi-sensorial affectation device, inviting us to take care of our neighbors by living next to them). This cohabitation with the birds will be an opportunity to slow down, to take the time to meditate on our
own ways of thinking about the relationship between our bodies and the territories. Starting with our ears.
The main focus of the aesthetic character of our project is the song of the birds. We think that it can be a vector of wonder, leading to an awareness and then to
ecological action, in connection with the concept of Phonocene developed by Donna Haraway and Vinciane Despret, inviting us to pay attention to the sounds
of the Anthropocene, of our damaged world. This approach by the sensitive allows us to remember that what surrounds us, what touches us, is significant.
We therefore wish to implement moments of listening, of sustained attention to these wonderful sounds, and of bio-acoustic creations on the occasion of
workshops accompanied by artists/musicians. The dovecote will then be considered as a focus of attention, radiating onto the surrounding territory on
the occasion of guided walks by ornithologists.
Finally, the last dimension concerns artistic creation. We will invite the artists living in Lizières to let themselves be affected, to expose themselves to this
ecological life niche that we will create and that will be a motor for new artistic creations that are socially and ecologically committed. Several restitutions are
planned, in order to share these experiences with as many people as possible. In the same way, several external artists will be invited, like Luc Petton, ornithologist and choreographer, combining dancers and living birds in his creations.
Lizières is an exemplary center for artistic education. One of the strong points of Lizières Center's cultural project is the development of actions in favor of artistic
and cultural openness, with a stated desire to break down the barriers between disciplines while questioning the boundaries between art and education. Lizières
not only proposes artistic actions but also develops cultural contents in order to allow everyone to find their bearings in a changing world and thus create scales
of value to acquire intellectual and structuring tools. Several projects have already been undertaken with a variety of audiences: schools (primary and
secondary schools in the region), students (in collaboration with art schools), prison (Château-Thierry’s) and specific medical facilities (retirement homes for
the elderly, the psychiatric hospital at Château-Thierry). In addition to the various free public events which are regularly attended by the local population.
This project will be a continuation of these already built links, by proposing modes of participation at all stages of the project:
- Co-designing the project through visits and preliminary discussion sessions
- Co-construction of the dovecote, through a participatory workcamp to clear the ruins, build the wooden structure, and a participatory ceramic workshops to make the bolts
- Listening sessions and walks supervised by ornithologists
- Workshops of bio-acoustic creations
- Sessions of visits and workshops about birds, their way of life, their relationship with the territory and the community
- Co-creation of exhibitions and performances, which combine professional and amateur artistic practices
All these events will be offered free of charge. Volunteers working on the restoration of the dovecote will be given meals/accommodation for their help. As for the residency itself, it will be open to artists living in Lizières but also to anyone who requests it, without the need for a specific project.
The exposure of citizens or civil parties to this project will take place in several stages:
First of all, the time of construction, which will be a shared adventure, between several participants. The project will be carried out in collaboration with a school of architecture, the École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Grenoble, in the form of several workshops (design, construction). This will therefore see the inclusion of several dozen students at this pivotal moment in their training. In this respect, we hope to raise awareness of the ecological issues at stake, both in terms of the construction materials (rammed earth), the multi-species problematic, and the principle of delicacy (or even non-intervention) manifested in the project. In addition to the students, a call for participation will be open to the general public, in order to share this experience.
After the construction, the time will come for the multiple activations, which will be open to the general public free of charge. Here it will be a question of exposing oneself to this platform for cohabitation, both through the concrete experience of living in this dwelling, but also through the multiple experiences organised: conferences with ornithologists and philosophers of the living, listening sessions, bio-acoustic workshops, and so on.
Finally, the last point concerns more specifically artistic production, through the residency programme specific to the Lizières centre. It will be a matter of proposing to resident artists and/or specifically inviting artists to work around/with/on the basis of this system. In this sense, it is envisaged that this project will be a matrix for artistic creations, and that it will spread to society in an organic way, and not only in the specific in situ setting of Lizières.
At the most local level, this project benefits from the welcome, support and network of action and communication of the Lizières centre. It offers expertise in participatory and socially committed projects, strong from its experience, having carried them out for over 10 years. Also at a local level, as the centre has close links with the municipality of Épaux-Bézu, we can hope to apply for funding, especially for future events related to the activations of the scheme.
On a more national level, this project is being carried out in partnership with the university of Grenoble. Master's students will be included in all stages of the process, from conception to completion. We are interested in making this project a proposal that is specific to the interests of my generation, without forgetting or devaluing the expertise of our elders. We are particularly interested in how young students, soon to enter the professional world, will take up this project, which has at its heart a principle of delicacy, even precaution, in relation to the living. At the École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Grenoble, the project will also call on the expertise of the CRAterre laboratory, which specialises in eco-responsible construction, particularly the rammed earth (pisé) technique.
Finally, on a more broad level, the project will involve several partners from various disciplinary fields. A study has already been carried out by the League for the Protection of Birds (LPO), and we will continue to be in close contact with them at all stages of this project, with members of the association located in the region. Similarly, we are interested in developing partnerships with other groups of ornithologists, especially amateurs, who could appreciate our initiative and share their expertise and views with us in return. Finally, many artists, scientists and thinkers, French and international, will be sensitized and will sensitize us through their multi-disciplinary practice.
The first field is that of architecture, in particular an anthropological reflection on the origins and motivations of construction, updated with a reflection on reuse and eco-design. This work is carried out in collaboration with two architects and professors at the ENSA of Grenoble, and their students. This first field of architecture is not limited to a theoretical or planning approach, but will be experimented with as close as possible to the techniques of fabrication, through the technique of pisé/rammed earth, thus using ceramics, which will be produced locally in the Lizières workshops.
The other major field that is invoked is that of art (practice and management), the project being carried out in collaboration by Ramuntcho Matta, artist and artistic director of Lizières, and myself, who practices primarily as an artist. This artistic anchorage is evident in the project and its future activations. Similarly, the project places collaboration at its heart, and other artists (notably those working on the living or bio-acoustics) will be brought in to participate in this project and to embrace it in the way that suits them best. Finally, because of the ambitions and functions of Lizières, an important place will be dedicated to the inclusion of fragile populations, referring to the methodology of art-therapy, already experimented for many years at Lizières.
Finally, the last fields that are articulated to this project are philosophy and ornithology. On the one hand, to shed light on human behaviour, its evolution in dialogue with other forms of life, and reflections on contemporary ethics. On the other hand, to better understand our winged neighbours, their behaviour and their desires, in order to better dialogue and exchange with them. The philosophy section has already benefited from the invitation of Gilles Clément, specialist in gardens and the biodiversity that inhabits them, and we plan to invite Vinciane Despret, who recently wrote a book on birds.
Generally speaking, birds are considered at worst as prey (by hunters) or parasites (pigeons in cities) and at best as objects of study (by ornithologists).
What we wish to propose is the implementation of a true cohabitation with these forms of life. To create a device that invites us to be truly affected by all the
experiences they have to offer us. It will not be a question of producing explanations, in the manner of the natural sciences, but rather of
interpretations, infinite, and re-presentations, by modestly framing reality so that it can blossom and spread its wings.
Contrary to contemporary ornithological observatories, generally created from scratch and some with heavy materials (metal), we propose a variation by opting
for a renovation, in a modest and ecological way (re-use). In the same way, the mode of production is resolutely innovative by its absolute horizontality
(participative at all levels). On the other hand, the great specificity of our project is the alliance between culture and nature, which become inseparable. The fact of implementing this interface of cohabitation in a center of residence and artistic events is a unique initiative to our knowledge. This adventure will be the occasion of a fertile crossing between artistic avant-garde (residents at Lizières, guests artists) and animal life forms that propose their own creative forms (songs, dances,
ornaments). It is a question of not dissociating in distinct places (ornithological parks on one side and artistic centers on the other) but to make converge human creations and animal expressions within the same hearth of life and artistic emulsion. Co-composing a territory by establishing new modes of attention, in order to multiply the worlds, the ways of being and creating.
Firstly, on the most specific level, this project focuses on the pigeon house as a care structure for birds. This is an architectural heritage that is very rarely used, even though it is an extremely minimal renovation to allow these species to have a shelter. Throughout France, and in many other European countries, these places could be renovated using rammed earth or other earthen techniques, and thus offer niches to these endangered species. The architectural dimension of the project aims to participate in the training of future architects from Grenoble University, and more generally to raise awareness among as many people as possible of the issues of reuse on an architectural scale, and of eco-design materials/techniques. On a more symbolic or anthropological level, it is also a question of reversing the initial function of these architectures, dedicated to the breeding of these animals, for food or communication purposes. This methodology could also be applied to other animal architectures: given that the gradual end of mass breeding seems to be mandatory in the current ecological crisis, it might be interesting to think about reusing and diverting breeding and slaughtering sites and turning them into platforms for the care and protection of biodiversity.
Finally, through this project, we hope to deploy a whole range of collaborations, and thus participate in the development of participatory research methodologies. In this respect, we are in contact with the Particip-Arc network dedicated to cultural and participatory research. Our experiments will be documented and reported on, with the aim of disseminating the kind of practices that are currently being co-created, both at the level of design and production, but also for the benefit of an audience, which we aim to be as diverse as possible. In the same way, the methodologies that will be tested in the bio-acoustic dimension of the project could be adapted to other animals, in the field of music or other.
The central question we wish to address is the decline in biodiversity, and on the horizon of the extinction of life, to propose niches and shelters. Sustainability, aesthetics and inclusiveness are the key words of our project, that intertwine and resonate in a synergistic way. It is first of all by the sensitive that we were touched, by the listening of these surprising and delicious songs, by these aerial choreographies and the spectacle of these vivid paintings, with shimmering colors, which the birds offer us. The hypothesis of their disappearance is unbearable for us and is the driving force behind our motivation to counteract the modern dynamics of destruction of the living. It is thus from the sensitive experience that our ecological determination was born, it is the sense of responsibility which inhabits us, that we wish to share with the greatest number. We are convinced that aesthetics is a vector of awareness and action. This is why we want to create this interface of encounter between different audiences and the birds that populate Lizières. In our conception of the world, the ecological revolution cannot be dissociated from a social ambition and this is why we wish to include, at each stage of this project (co-design, co-realization, co-experimentation) different publics and in particular the most fragile (socially/mentally). We are aiming at a concrete ecosophy, at the same time environmental, social, and mental. A collaborative, inclusive and voluntary movement, which works towards a virtuous cohabitation with the living; and this by the sensitive, by the participative and eco-responsible renovation of an abandoned place, in order to make it a matrix of sensation, of listening and attention to the living. So that our world in the era of the Phonocene does not become unbearable and and silent, it is necessary to compose a singing environment, where the voices of birds, artists, fragile people and the curious resonate in harmony.
