Replanted identity

Replanted identity in Saint Nazaire

EXHIBITION – 16 Octobre – 8 Novembre 2015

The design objects and artpieces that the people of Saint-Nazaire and Florø inspired the Agents a year ago, will be be shown to the public in the Replanted Identity exhibition at Le Garage, 40 rue des Halles in Saint-Nazaire.

David Samzun, the Mayor of Saint-Nazaire et the Municipal Council will open the exhibition
on the 15th of Octobre at 18h.

Opening hours:
Wednesday to Saturday 14-18h
Friday and Sunday 10-13h (closed Sunday the 1st of Novembre)

WORKSHOP – November 2014

The City of Saint-Nazaire and the CARENE are pleased to welcome Ideal Lab’ – a research program that considers design and its meaning into a social environment in mutation.

Born from a desire to put design and contemporary art at the very heart of societal preoccupations, Ideal Lab’ program is initiated by the French-Norwegian design studio Ralston & Bau, in 2010. On the terms «Replanted Identity», this program undertakes to carry out a creative and collective reflection on the identity of the city, both in Saint-Nazaire (France) and Florø (Norway), bringing together professionals – designers, artists, craftsmen and sociologists – and local populations. Building on the dialogue with inhabitants, Ideal Lab’ intends to encourage a collaborative artistic creation that reflects the city development and reacts to the population needs in terms of public space frequentation and use of techniques and skills in the age of globalised production.

From Monday, November 3rd to Friday, November 7th, eight French and foreign creators will settle in Saint-Nazaire to take part in a worshop group based on territory observation and meeting with inhabitants and local firms.

Whether you are newly set up or few long-time resident, you are welcome to share your experience of Saint-Nazaire and talk to the agents of the Ideal Lab’s project, on Monday, November 3rd, from 3 pm to 7 pm, in the former bar “Le Guérandais”, 40 avenue Albert de Mun – Saint-Nazaire.

Ralston & Bau is a French-Nowegien design studio whose projects were recently exhibited at the International Biennale of Design Saint‑Étienne, France, and received the label VIA and the Red Dot Design Award in 2013.

For more information:
tel: 06 25 22 40 28
mail : remy.souvent@gmail.com

La ville de Saint-Nazaire et la CARENE sont heureuses d’accueillir Ideal Lab’ – programme de recherche considérant le design et ses effets dans une sphère sociale en mutation.

Né d’une volonté d’inscrire le design et l’art contemporain au coeur de préoccupations sociétales, le programme Ideal Lab’ est initié en 2010 par le couple de designers franco-norvégien Ralston & Bau. Sous l’intitulé « Identité replantée », ce programme entreprend de mener conjointement à Saint-Nazaire et à Florø, en Norvège, une réflexion créative commune sur l’identité de la ville, en associant des professionnels – designers, artistes, artisans et sociologues – aux populations locales. En s’appuyant sur des échanges avec les habitants, Ideal Lab’ entend encourager une création artistique collaborative qui reflète l’évolution de la ville et réponde directement aux besoins de sa population en terme d’usage des espaces urbains, d’usage des techniques et des savoir-faire à l’heure des modes de production globalisés.

Ainsi du lundi 3 au vendredi 7 novembre, huit créateurs français et étrangers seront présents à Saint-Nazaire pour réaliser une expérimentation sous forme d’atelier de production d’idées, d’objets, de prototypes, etc., issus de l’observation du territoire et de rencontres avec les habitants et les entreprises.

Que vous soyez nouvel arrivant ou installé de longue date, nous vous invitons à venir partager votre expérience de Saint-Nazaire, exprimer vos observations sur le centre-ville et discuter avec les différents acteurs de ce projet, lundi 3 novembre, de 15h à 19h, dans les locaux de l’ancien bar «Le Guérandais», 40 Avenue Albert de Mun – Saint-Nazaire.

Ralston & Bau est une agence de design franco-norvégienne dont les projets ont été présentés récemment à la Biennale Internationale de Saint-Étienne et récompensés par le label Via ainsi que par le Red Dot Design Award en 2013. http://www.ralstonbau.com/

Pourplus d’informations:
tél : 06 25 22 40 28
mail : remy.souvent@gmail.com

Ideal Lab at the Biennale Internationale Design Saint-Etienne

The designs and art produced in the theme Replanted Identity in 2014 has been selected to take part in the Biennale in 2015. It will be shown in a dedicated exhibition of 110 m2.

Replanted Identity exhibition

In a world where everyone are in contact with everyone else, having something truly collective emerge often as difficult. In this context of globalisation and migrations, the issue of identity is more and more prevalent. An identity in its original sense means: what is identical to us, keep us together. Beyond differences, what make us identical? To explore this question, Ideal Lab’ invited artists, designers and the inhabitants of two harbour cities and industrial micropolis: Saint-Nazaire in France and Florø in Norway. After having exchanged and found recurring issues, the Agents have imagined objects and art pieces producing identity. An identity based on what brings people together, local techniques and aesthetics. Three scenarios structure the exhibition: Share / Adapt / Belong

The work within these three scenarios is being presented for the first time at the Biennale Internationale Design in Saint-Etienne from the 12th of March to the 12th of April 2015.

(french text below the images)

“Blow this way” serving plates, Ralston & Bau

“FL 1014 T & FL 1014 B”, Pierre Dubourg

“Minimum Three” video, Anne Lise Stenseth

“Subsea Coffee” manual coffee maker, Vera & Kyte

“How to spend eternity wisely” by David Brognon & Stéphanie Rollin

Ideal Lab’ / Identité Replantée

Dans un monde où tout est connecté, faire émerger une idée collective reste difficile. C’est dans ce contexte de mondialisation et migrations que la question de l’identité se pose de plus en plus. Une identité au sens originel du terme est “ce qui nous est identique, ce qui nous rassemble”. Au-delà des différences, en quoi sommes-nous identiques ? Pour fouiller cette question, Ideal Lab’ a invité artistes, designers et habitants de deux villes portuaires, micropoles industrielles : Saint-Nazaire en France et Florø en Norvège. Après s’être imprégnés des trouvailles et sujets récurrents, les Agents ont imaginé des objets et œuvres produisant de l’identité. Une identité basée sur ce qui rassemble les gens, sur esthétique et les techniques de chaque lieu. Trois scénarios structure l’exposition : Partager / Adapter / Appartenir.

Le travail au sein de ces trois scénarios est présenté pour la première fois à la Biennale Internationale Design de Saint-Etienne à partir du 12 Mars au 12 Avril 2015.

Replanted identity in Florø

Nine Agents will participate to a co-creative workshop in Florø from the 13th to the 17th of October 2014 to explore the theme of “Replanted Identity”. One can conclude that Norway and Europe is becoming more multicultural and multifaceted. Such a development has taken place in the city of Florø, which has evolved from a homogeneous coastal community to a multi cultural city today. Our actions and the objects that surround us contain the essence of local traditions. Ideal Lab’ and Flora commune invites citizens in the community to use skills of their own. They are the ones that shape the future expressions of their own town.

In the Ideal Lab’s program “Replanted Identity” nine designers, artists and artisans are selected to co-create with the local Florø population from diverse cultural backgrounds, and to develop new artistic expressions through crafts skills. Based on personal and local knowledge, as found in habitants with diverse cultural backgrounds and in generations of “florøværingar”, the goal is to create visual works reinventing the identity of Florø.

The program Ideal Lab’ is initiated by the design studio Ralston & Bau. The fourth theme “Replanted Identity” is a french – norwegian artistic exchange supported by the Norwegian Embassy in Paris and funded by the Norwegian Arts Council, the Sogn og Fjordane Region Cultural, Plan and Community Departments and the Flora Municipality.

Call for participation

The investigative design program Ideal Lab’ is exploring the theme “Replanted Identity“. The theme aims to create meaningful results by merging of what we might call “the local norm” with what is “different” to create new, formal expressions.

We invited French and Norwegian creative professionals to workshops in Norway and France this autumn. The result of the collaborations will be taking part in a exhibition in 2015.

All together we received 46 individual designer or artisan and team applicants for this years theme. The final selection of the Replanted Identity applicants will be made by the Artistic Council this week. Their choice will be published soon.