Origins

The animation of workshops arose from the desire to give the opportunity of self expression, by means of an artistic medium, to people who, because of their geographical, social or personal situation, are not familiar with these particular means. It gives them the possibility to show their point of view, their understanding, their outlook, their unique voice, and their experience of life, which is sometimes not heard. In this way, we are conceiving our workshops according to the place and to the public targeted, and we allow ourselves adaptability according to the feeling once “on the ground”.

By being able to be reflexive in advance along with the educators of the welcoming structures (educators, psychologists, caretakers), our workshops can take part in the personal development of the participant and thus bring a new dimension to the pleasure that can provoke and reveal this moment of sharing and creation.

Participants

The participants are the actors of the project, they have the main part.

The workshops tend to return to each one a part of its own subjectivity, and thus the recognition of its peculiarity and its individuality.

It allows through the creation to strengthen one’s self-respect, confidence, as well as to discover a new means of expression and technical knowledge.

The workshop is a space of discovery where we can widen its horizon.

It gives each one a place, a word, an importance.

The Association : Et ailleurs?

The association "Et ailleurs?”, composed by a group of professional authors (photography, writing, drawings) and caretakers, has made its goal to encourage reflections on the fields of health and social issues through the creation of cultural and artistic projects and the animation of workshops.

Created in 2009, it has allowed the achievement of workshops, with a therapeutic aim, inside old people's homes or within the reception centers for psychotic adults, and has contributed to the project "Glances on Madness" (“Regards sur la folie”), a documentary research on the perception of mental illness within four Amerindian peoples.

Workshops

The workshop defines itself as a "space of freedom within a frame", at the center of which the pleasure of discovery holds a dominant place.

Through an artistic practice, each one can create according to its own feelings, and thus share its original vision. The appropriation of a new language

(artistic), of a new approach, will allow the creation of new bridges for dialogue.

We are convinced that the expression of what corresponds to the lived reality, through mediums other than traditional communication, can engender revelations, discoveries, a distance on the reality, and a reflexive approach on its personal situation.

Final Realization

We consider that progress is more important than the result itself, strictly speaking. That which takes place during the creation, the intentions, the discoveries, the exchanges, and the reflection matters more than the final object.

Nevertheless, it is important that the workshop has as a goal the realization of a concrete object, which encourages and motivates the creation and which gives a purpose and a shape that preserves the experience.

Interested ?

We are organising and preparing the workshops according to the place and the participants, it’s always an original idea that takes shape from your expectations and our imagination.

 

For a personalized project, contact us by email :  contact.okna@gmail.com