“Everyone Outside: Installations Designed and Created with Students”
Throughout the 2022–2023 academic year, Maddalena Pornaro and Virginie Terroitin, architects with the collective l amicale, invited students and staff at the Carcassonne campus of the Faculty of Education (formerly IUFM) to collectively imagine and build artistic designs for the park: installations for eating, resting, playing, working… By exploring how the space is used, people’s aspirations, interactions, and desires, they helped transform it into a vibrant, living space in its own right. An artist residency titled “Everyone Outside.”
A participatory residence
The project helped rally the university community after a period marked by the COVID-19 pandemic and the hiatus in student life. Through meetings and the thoughtful initiatives they implemented, the architects invited participants to take a fresh look at this hub of university life and at the people who bring it to life. Everyone’s involvement in this collective project created a real sense of enthusiasm and sparked a desire to continue this collective momentum.
On an individual level, each person was recognized for their uniqueness, which allowed everyone to find their place, thrive, and showcase their interpersonal and/or technical skills.
It is conceivable that this residency will be remembered as a highlight and that its influence will be felt in the projects undertaken by future teachers trained at the School of Education.
An artist-in-residence program organized by the Art & Culture Department —Campus Life Division of the University of Montpellier—in partnership with the Faculty of Education. This artist-in-residence program received support from the DRAC Occitanie and was co-funded by the CVEC (Contribution for Student and Campus Life).
Student Projects
- A tiered table: This table, which is over 13 meters long, can seat more than 40 people for eating, playing, working, and chatting in the shade of its colorful roof. Thanks to its semicircular seating arrangement, it can also serve as bleachers for performances, classes, and more…
- A giant lounge chair: This 4-meter-wide lounge chair invites you to sit down, lean back, relax, take a nap, study, read…
The official opening of these projects will take place on Friday, June 2, 2023, at the Faculty of Education on the Carcassonne campus.
The Artists
Maddalena Pornaro and Virginie Terroitin are architects. In 2022, they founded the collective l amicale , through which they have been engaged for several years in alternative approaches to architecture, focused on mediation, mobilization, and activation to better involve citizens in the creation of shared spaces.
Practical Information:
Date of the official opening of the installations: Friday, June 2, 2023.
Location: University of Montpellier: Faculty of Education – Carcassonne campus.
More information about the residency: here.
