La Transplanisphère (Paris, France)

Transadmin/ December 12, 2016/ partners

Since 2008, La Transplanisphere has been questioning the link between art and politics. This has been developped through projects associating artistic creation and workshops in the sector of formal education (high schools and universities) and informal (amateur associative sector). Through these experiences, the company has built up a network of partners and acquired a certain experience.

In 2009, Transplanisphere organized “What Diplomacy for Europe?”, A workshop involving 50 high school students from 5 European countries for a week of workshops in Paris-Nanterre (financed by the French Ministry of Education, in partnership with the Versailles Academy), and the City of Nanterre). Then World Crisis Theater, student version, with 25 European students, supported by Youth in Action (EU program, now Erasmus+ Youth), with actions in Nanterre again and Sciences Po Paris.

In 2012, the Transplanisphere organized a meeting of young Germans, Turks and French with young Armenians in Yerevan, with the help of YIA again and Ofaj-Dfjw (french-german friendship organisation). In summer 2013, the company is the artistic director of the Sifnos Crisis project, a meeting of 70 young and senior artists in Greece, on the island of Sifnos. 12 days of theater workshops and exchange of practices on the theme of the Crisis (again with the help of YIA and the Municipality of Sifnos).

At the same time, the company is coordinating a Grundvig project called Pace (Performing Arts for Crisis in Europe), which combined the non-formal education artistic structures of 6 European countries (Sweden, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Ireland and France) for a series of workshops. In each country.
The company is therefore very invested in confronting art and politics. It questions the pedagogy and the transmission of this practice in its artistic projects directly, through workshops at the local level and at the European level. It also questions its practice even in educational exchanges with its partners (example of the Pace – Grundtvig project).
The company therefore has experience on the subject, ambitious cooperation project experience, a network of motivated local and European partners and the legitimacy to convince newcomers to join them.

Polart Circle arrives as a highlight in the company’s journey as well as for some of its partners. The project makes it possible to synthesize, in partnership with the co-organizers and contributors of the project, a 7-year course devoted to the theme of art and politics. Above all, it creates the framework and vectors for disseminating this experience through innovative teaching tools in this area. In the company’s team, 2 people are more specifically dedicated to Polart Circle.

Bruno Freyssinet, artistic director of the Transplanisphere’s projects, has led the company’s development strategy since 2008 on the art and politics issue. In his work, he chose to leave the logic of the “radiation of French culture” to privilege the co construction in cooperation in the perspective of appropriating the European project and make it a reality for his company. He trained himself with Relais Culture Europe through long trainings.

Arthur Navellou began his work with the Transplanisphere on the occasion of his end of theatrical studies (Stuff happens, 2009). He has been working with the company since September 2014, with the goal of developing Polart Circle.