Faces of a country | Dremmoù ur vro
A unique partnership between the Centre Pompidou, the Centre Ouest Bretagne Country and Danse à tous les étages
In 1977, the creation of the Centre Pompidou marked the beginning of a movement to open museums to new audiences. True to its original mission, the Centre Pompidou constantly seeks to diversify its audiences to promote modern and contemporary art as widely as possible.
In 2017, to celebrate its 40th anniversary, the Centre Pompidou co-designed 65 events in France with local cultural players (museums, art centres, performance venues, festivals, etc.). In a decision to maintain this dynamic, the Centre Pompidou continues to forge long-term relationships with cultural actors throughout the country, including the Centre Ouest Bretagne Country.
Since its creation in 1992, this vast rural territory covering areas of the Côtes d'Armor, Finistère and Morbihan departments has based its development on its natural and cultural riches. With its unique cultural and landscape identity, recognised as a factor of attractiveness and cohesion, it hosts multiple artistic initiatives and welcomes cutting-edge experiments while continuously upholding a spirit of exchange and reciprocity. Access for all to services, works and a diverse range of cultural practices is a matter of priority.
The artist residency
"Faces of a country | Dremmoù ur vro" is the title of an artist residency initiated in 2020 in the Centre Ouest Bretagne Country by the Centre Pompidou in partnership with the Breton dance association Danse à tous les étages on the themes of landscapes, agriculture, contemporary dance, photography and sound creation.
Photographer Sylvain Gouraud and sound artist Pauline Boyer travelled to meet around 10 crop and livestock farmers and market gardeners on their farms to talk about landscapes and agriculture. The aim was to provide an overview of changes in the landscape and the major issues related to farming today.
The images and sound recordings produced during these encounters were used as material by dancer and choreographer Thierry Micouin (T.M. Project) during amateur workshops with the farmers (all members of the Racines du Blavet association) and a session with agro-equipment students at Lycée St-Yves in Gourin as part of their socio-cultural education classes (which provide an introduction to diverse artistic practices). During the class, twelve 15-year-olds thus took up the challenge of leaving their tractors to become, for a moment, dancers.
In June 2021, the farmers and high school students presented the fruit of their work during a collective performance staged outdoors in Gourin, in the verdant setting of Tronjoly as part of the Nomadanse festival initiated by Danse à tous les étages.
Relive the residency
The Centre Pompidou and the project partners invite you to relive this artist residency through a documentary film available to Breton associations and cultural or educational establishments.
In addition to the documentary, you can also present D'ici, de là by Sylvain Gouraud (a film from the Centre Pompidou's collection), schedule choreography workshops with Thierry Micouin or even recreate the "Faces of a country" project with the support of Danse à tous les étages.
All or part of the content and tools produced for the initial artist residency can be combined to enhance an existing project or serve as a starting point for a new programme or an artistic and cultural education project on questions related to landscapes and the rural world.
The artists and partners of the "Faces of a country | Dremmoù ur vro" project are ready and wating to design the next instalment!
Show the documentary film by the Centre Pompidou
This documentary film retraces the full adventure of the "Faces of a country | Dremmoù ur vro" residency, held from June 2020 to June 2021. It offers an insight into the artistic process and the main issues running through the project in relation to landscapes, cultural openness and farm practices.
From encounters with the farmers to choreography workshops and the final performance, a multitude of faces from the Centre Ouest Bretagne Country are allowed to express themselves, inviting the audience to see the countryside around them in a new way.
Trailer:
Practical information:
Duration: 1 hour
Screening format: .mov Apple proRes or .mp4 H264
Free of charge
Contact: A copy of the film will be sent upon request addressed to Laure Alart, Head of the Centre Ouest Bretagne Country cultural mission
Show the film "D'ici, de là" by photographer Sylvain Gouraud
To break down into images this landscape that changes and evolves with agricultural practices, Sylvain Gouraud immersed himself in the world of farmers in Centre Ouest Bretagne.
As the farmers hold and handle the large photographic prints, the landscape passes through their hands, highlighting the specificity of the territory. Flattened and manipulated, these images cause the landscape to oscillate between the viewer and the creator.
Practical information:
Duration: 20 minutes
Screening method: television or video projector
If meeting desired: journey from Crest (Drôme). Accommodation and meals to be provided.
Cost: available on request.
Contact: Sylvain Gouraud
Schedule choreography workshops with Thierry Micouin
After a general physical warm-up based on different techniques such as pilates, yoga and specific exercises used by Thierry Micouin, the workshop invites participants to reuse the main choreographic principles from the "Faces of a country | Dremmoù ur vro project" (2021):
- simple choreography based on everyday and/or professional movements;
- score for walking in circles and spirals within a square.
Emphasis is placed on listening, memorising, concentration, anchoring and coordination.
Find out more about the T.M. Project company:
Practical information:
Workshop duration: 3 hours
Number of workshops: to be defined with the artist
Cost of a 3-hour workshop: €150 travel time + €250 fee + €150 transport from Paris
Accommodation and vegetarian meals to be provided.
Contact: Laurence Edelin, production and administration manager at T.M. Project
Co-construct a bespoke project with Danse à tous les étages
In June 2022, Danse à tous les étages will launch the 2nd edition of the Nomadanse festival held along the Nantes-Brest canal, with additional events in Centre Ouest Bretagne between 6 and 12 June.
As part of the project, Danse à tous les étages is looking to design and co-construct bespoke dance projects with Breton towns and communities (workshops, residency, outreach, performance), particularly relating to the themes addressed during the touring project (dance, landscapes, etc.).
To find out more about Danse à tous les étages, visit:
https://www.danseatouslesetages.org/
or about the Nomadanse festival, visit:
Practical information:
Contact: Naïg Vaineau-Gasperment, head of development and programming for young audiences at Danse à tous les étages
Show a film from the Centre Pompidou’s Cinema/New Media collection
The Centre Pompidou offers a range of films and videos from the Musée National d’Art Moderne’s collection in connection with dance, landscape and nature.
The Centre Pompidou's "Film" collection includes films by experimental filmmakers, artists' films and installations by visual artists. The collection is like none other in the world and features around 1,400 works, mostly produced on film by visual artists and filmmakers from a wide range of geographical and cultural backgrounds.
The "New Media" collection contains over 2,600 works including installations, videotapes, sound works, digital films and interactive digital media, dating from 1963 to the present day.
Find out more about the Films and New Media collection
Practical information:
Screening conditions and exploitation rights on request.
Loan application to be sent 6 months before the date of the event.
Contact: Raphaële Bianchi, head of loans and deposits at the Centre Pompidou
Meet the actors of the project
To continue exchanges on the themes of the residency, the project’s actors can be invited to take part in events you are organising, such as a meeting.
The farmers:
Simone Charrier, organic market gardener
Thérèse Charrier, partner and co-worker of Simone (retired)
Moulin Coz Farm, Le Saint (Morbihan)
François Ganne, dairy cow farmer
GAEC de Kerdael, Bon-Repos-sur-Blavet (Côtes d’Armor)
Jean-Michel Gaude, poultry and suckler cow farmer, farm gites, photovoltaic system
Ambassador for Brittany for the Association pour la Santé de la Terre et du Vivant
EARL de Kerfornan et EARL du Sulon, Saint-Igeaux (Côtes d’Armor)
Ronan Le Denmat, dairy cow farmer
Elected representative of Rostrenen (Côtes d’Armor) at the Chamber of Agriculture of Brittany
GAEC Lotout-Le Denmat, Canihuel (Côtes d’Armor)
Jean-Michel Mener, organic dairy cow farmer
GAEC de Lan ar Coz, Maël-Pestivien (Côtes d’Armor)
Jean-Philippe Raoult, organic pig farmer (breeder, fattener) and horse breeder
Vice-president of the Association des éleveurs de chevaux de sang du pays de Corlay
GAEC de Kerbiono, Le Haut-Corlay (Côtes d’Armor)
Racines du blavet
An association created in January 2020 on the initiative of farmers sensitive to the issues of agroecology and sustainable development. Its aim is to promote agroecology through local actions designed to preserve wetlands with high biodiversity potential, revitalise valley floors, manage hedgerows and woodland and create an ideas laboratory on these topics. It also aims to help develop and support the three-fold performance (economic, environmental and social) of its members' farms.
Contact:
racinesdublavet@gmail.com
Jean-Michel Mener, President of the association : +33 (0)6 83 73 98 53
The artists:
Pauline Boyer
Artist and teacher Pauline Boyer creates sound environments through installations and performances. Her artistic approach focuses on the elaboration of processes and that of their interfaces.
Thierry Micouin – T.M. Project
After completing a PhD in medicine, Thierry Micouin trained in theatre and then dance. His work is anchored in technique as well as the perception of space, the materialisation of time and the in-depth exploration of memory and the imaginary.
Sylvain Gouraud
Through photography, Sylvain Gouraud reflects on the organisation of our societies. He uses photography as a form of observation, an active vision through which he shows how it can drive political action. To achieve this, he likes to involve the public in his creative process.
Practical information:
Contact: Laure Alart, head of the Centre Ouest Bretagne Country cultural mission
