par Alex Bodea
“The Fact Finder” is a workshop dedicated to students interested in documentary art, journalism, storytelling and communication. For two days, participants will be able to access locations and collectives in Bourges (such as Bourges Airport, Tango Bourge Basket, Maison de Cultur) to collect notes and observations about the operation of these institutions and turn them into an artwork/artistic communiqué. The main purpose of this workshop is to connect the young artist to the lucrative realities inside and outside the artistic field, enhancing his/her ability to observe and communicate. The workshop provides the participants with ways to be creative and proactive in creating opportunities for themselves as an alternative to the gallery network and art institutions.
The workshop will run as follows :
Day one (20 November):
8:45 a.m : Appointment for the departure for the airport in the Cour Bass with the vehicles of the school.
9:15-9:30 a.m : we will have a brief theoretical training presenting the scope, the method and the locations of the visits/workshop.
9:40-11:40 a.m. Visit to Bourges Airport 12:00-13:30 p.m Lunch Break
14:00-16:00 p.m Visit at Ateliers of Maison de la Culture will take place.
For the visits, prepare to take notes (writing and drawing), photos, sound recording, analyze, do in-situ research, talk with people you meet. Departure point for the visits: university main courtyard. (in case of change you will be informed). Public transport will be used.
Day two (21 November):
9:00-12:30 a.m We will edit our notes and turn them into individual/group artworks: object/installation/photo,video, audio/story/narrative/performance/intervention etc.
12:30-14:30 p.m Lunch break
14:30-18:00 p.m We continue with editing
Location: Room 210. For bigger and messier works, each student should use his/her own place in the big studios.
Day three (22 November): The same as day two
Day four (23 November) : Restitution day. We will present the result of our work. The presentation will be made with guests from the institutions we have visited and their own guests. Participants to the workshop will present, each of them, their work. The purpose of the presentation is to give the people we visited our artistic feedback on what we have seen and to the enhance dialogue between different disciplines and points of view. Empathy and communication are the keywords. The presentations are open to the public and you can bring your own guests.
11:00-13:00 Restitutoon at Atelier Maison de la Culture
17:00-19:00 Restitution at Airport
All the above hours and dates are subject to change, you will be informed about any modification
Mediums:
For taking notes, the workshop provides a sketchbook and pen, for each participant. No matter what other mediums you will use to capture impressions and make your final artwork, taking simple notes (writing/drawing) is compulsory. This is the basic medium we will use during the visits. Additionally, you can take photos/make videos, record sounds etc. As you develop your final work for your restitution, based on your notes, you can choose any other mediums to work with.
Participants are asked, upon enrolment, to specify the following:
-the medium you expect to work with (drawing, photo, video, audio, painting, object, installation, performance etc.)-the materials you expect to be using-if you will be working on the computer, please bring your own device; please specify if you need a computer but don't have one.
All these can be just an estimation. Changes of choice can be made after the research visits take place.
If you have any special requests (e.g accessibility for someone using a wheelchair) please specify.
The language of the workshop: English, with the possibility of French translation, when needed.
Alex Bodea, born in Romania, living and working in Berlin, activates at the crossroads of visual art, journalism and storytelling. Fuelled by a desire to witness and record, she makes use of a language based on drawing and text, both of them stripped down to the essentials. She is mostly interested in documenting (fact finding) aspects of urbanity such as everyday street life, passersby typology, social dynamics and interactions. In her fact finding missions she has collaborated and made visual stories about institutions such as Serralves Foundation (Porto), Institute for Cultural Inquiry, Martin-Gropius-Bau, HAU, Berliner Festspiele, Deutsche Oper, Deutsches Theater, International Literatur Festival (Berlin), Art Encounters Foundation (Timișoara) and numerous artists, writers and actors.
She is the founder of The Fact Finder, an artist-run space located in Berlin which is dedicated to artists whose work relies on field research, archiving, investigation and storytelling.
