Earth & Art: an artistic residency in a factory

For several years, TERREAL has been pursuing a policy of sponsorship directly linked to our know-how, terracotta, to the Habitat and to the preservation of heritage. These sponsorships can take different forms. We have indeed renewed our support for associations for the preservation of heritage and rurality. We donate products to training and apprenticeship centres, artists' collectives and architectural reflection workshops. To continue this approach, we have decided to go further and involve our employees by welcoming a visual artist, Blandine Brière, for a 7-month artistic residency in one of our factories, the Bavent tile factory.

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The objective? To create a collaborative work of art with our employees and thus promote the women and men of TERREAL and their know-how. This work, which will then be exhibited at our Bavent site, will be accessible to all our partners and customers during factory visits and also to the general public during open days. The project, which began in October 2016, is called Terre & Art and is the result of a sponsorship co-produced with 2 regional cultural associations: L'association 2 angles and the APEFIM factory. Our factory in Bavent welcomes for 6 months the visual artist Blandine Brière. 

Contemporary art invites itself into the factory

Terre & Art's guiding principle is to promote the know-how of our employees and to involve them in a joint project. Bringing contemporary art into a clay factory means being able to create with clay, a noble raw material, and above all being surrounded by experts who shape it on a daily basis. The first few weeks were therefore devoted to meeting the teams at the Bavent factory to understand the work of each of them and to be inspired by their gestures.  This also involved discovering our industrial process, which benefits from cutting-edge technology to design the roof tiles of our regions.

The workshops, moments of exchange and creation

Several people have signed up for the workshops to join in the artist's creation. They invest themselves voluntarily and outside their working hours for the success of this project. Many employees also take a close interest in the development of this participatory project. The workshops are an opportunity to reflect on the work and the technical possibilities, while giving free rein to the creativity and sensitivity of the group.

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3 questions to Blandine Brière, visual artist

What impressed you most when you discovered the place?

The first time I arrived, I was impressed by the place from the outside. You can see the displays and the chain of roofs from the factory entrance to the pottery. The quarry next to the factory was also impressive. Then, inside the factory, the sounds and images that come to you in a few seconds are quite magical and I didn't expect such sophisticated robotics. 

How did your work start?

For three months, every other week, I met with all the departments. I spent a day or more with each one. I saw as many people as possible and I learnt a lot from them about the path of the material to the manufacture of the tile, the vocabulary used and the links between the different trades. It was fascinating! Many ideas came to mind as I went along, but my objective was to create, with the volunteer employees, a collective work from start to finish.

What are the next steps?

We are currently carrying out tests to check that our ideas are feasible and to start making and installing the work. A professional roofing contractor will be working with us on the installation of this collaborative work. It will then be presented to all TERREAL's partners and customers.

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