On October 15, the École normale supérieure–PSL and its Foundation, with the support of the Renault Fund for Art and Culture, inaugurated the Street ART(s) Chair, led by the ENS Arts Department.
An evening dedicated to creativity and dialogue between the arts and sciences marked the beginning of a four-year partnership.
Exploring Street Art at the Intersection of Research and Creation
This new chair, directed by Charlotte Guichard (Modern Art History) and Antoine de Baecque (Film Studies, Director of the ARTS Department), aims to explore urban arts—graffiti, murals, installations, urban music—and to analyze their aesthetic, social, and political dimensions.
Hosted by the SACRe laboratory (Sciences, Arts, Creation, Research), it will bring together research, teaching, and public outreach, fostering exchanges between artists, scholars, and broader audiences. Festivals and exhibitions will also be held at ENS every two years to showcase and share the work carried out within the chair.
— Jay One Ramier, painter, visual artist and artistic director of the opening night © Damien Paillard
“Eight courses are already being offered this first year of the Street ART(s) Chair, which will run for four years and enable significant scientific investment: the recruitment of postdoctoral fellows and PhD students, artist residencies, the organization of two festivals over the four years, and a major conference on Street Art.
The Street ART(s) Chair will become a scientific and artistic hub—intertwined—centered on what we now call research-creation.”
— Antoine de Baecque, Director of the Arts Department at the École normale supérieure
© Damien Paillard
An Inaugural Evening at the Crossroads of Creative Worlds
Guests were welcomed on Place Alfred Kessler with a moving musical performance led by saxophonist Laurent Estoppey, accompanied by dancers and sound creations by Jay One Ramier.
The evening continued in Salle Dussane with a cine-concert featuring the film Black and Tan (Dudley Murphy, 1929), performed by Felipe Cabrera, Johan Farjot, and Hugh Coltman.
In the historic Humanities Library, works by Jay One Ramier and Hugo Vitrani were exhibited before a series of speeches by Frédéric Worms (Director of ENS), Catherine Gros (Director of the Renault Fund for Art and Culture), Caroline Guény-Mentré (Director of the ENS Foundation), and Antoine de Baecque.
The evening concluded with a DJ set by Jay One and DJHarvey Marshal.
— Laurent Estoppey, saxophonist, accompanied by two dancers
© Damien Paillard
“I’m delighted that Street Art is entering ENS—offering students a new way to look at artworks, to question them, and to propose new artistic genealogies for the history of art.”
— Charlotte Guichard, Co-director of the Street ART(s) Chair at ENS
© Damien Paillard
A Philanthropic Partnership Dedicated to Contemporary Creation
— Catherine Gros, Director of the Renault Fund for Art and Culture
© Damien Paillard
Supported by the Renault Fund for Art and Culture, the Street ART(s) Chair reflects the shared commitment of the ENS Foundation and its patrons to foster connections between knowledge and contemporary artistic practices.
It will make it possible to develop a unique scientific and cultural program at the intersection of academic research and the urban arts scene.
