Our projects

The participants first got to know each other over coffee at La Compassion. They were then divided into two groups for two sessions of workshops organized over three days during the school vacations. The program for the 1^st session included a visit to the Liancourt and Creil markets, still-life and portrait photography and writing sessions. On the final day, they worked together to create a menu imagined by their elders. During the 2^nd session, they visited the Ti-Bonheurs farm in La Neuville-en-Hez. This visit also enabled them to discover or deepen their knowledge of agricultural products and trades. Then they worked on still life and staging. And on the final day, they gathered around a menu designed by the young people themselves. “From the earth to the plate”: these last days of the sessions, dedicated to creating the menu and preparing the meal, were moments of culmination, of opening up to others and sharing their culture through a meal. This intercultural and intergenerational artistic project encouraged participants to talk about their backgrounds and cultures, to affirm their tastes, and to share moments of conviviality and complicity.

This workshop also had an artistic dimension. They worked with Valentine Vermeil and Marion Messina on still lifes and portraits, staging and writing. What’s more, thanks to the presence of a sound producer sent by the Diagonal network, they were able to create a podcast about the project – which you can listen to by clicking here! The last days of the sessions were dedicated to creating the menu and preparing the meal. These were moments of culmination, of opening up to others and sharing one’s culture through a meal. Afterwards, two moments of restitution were organized. The first, in the intimacy of La Compassion residence, where participants shared their stories and visited the exhibition. The second, at the MECS in Clermont-de-l’Oise, was open to the public.

Discover the fanzine retracing the workshop!

This intercultural and intergenerational art project encouraged participants to talk about their backgrounds and cultures, to affirm their tastes and to share moments of conviviality and complicity. As the project progressed, participants were also able to apprehend the techniques of photography and writing with the benevolent guidance of the intervening artists. These artistic practices made it possible to cross-fertilize and experiment with photography and writing, to enhance the participants’ view of their daily lives and their relationship with food, to encourage them to express themselves through artistic creation, and to participate in the realization of a joint project and a collective restitution.

The journey also provided an opportunity to address the subjects of :

• Food: learn about the seasonal nature of food, how to balance your diet and how to cook.
• cohesion, self-esteem, caring: speaking up in a group, being able to share collective time together, knowing how to build respectful relationships.
• Career opportunities: discover and/or learn more about jobs related to food production – market gardeners, farmers, bakers…

This project launched a dynamic between the structures, which are determined to continue working together!