Initiales/La scène : Nice
Introduction by Claire Moulène and Emmanuel Tibloux : guided tour of the Villa Arson, in the 80’s and year 2000 with the records of Christian Bernard, Arnaud Labelle-Rojoux & Patrice Blouin, and Rafaela Lopez followed by a talk with the public.
The journal / On stage. The project began with Initiales, a collection of improved, « retro-prospective » book-length studies published by the School of Fine Arts in Lyon and co-produced by the Fondation d’Entreprise Ricard.
The four annual Rencontres Initiales platforms arose from the same philosophy, aiming to study the forms, modes, conditions, and effects of transmission in art. In doing so, they explore the underlying twofold hypothesis that art schools are a key, but not exclusive, actor in the process of transmission, and that transmission can itself be considered in historical context along the lines of the multiple lines of descent that inform the journal Initiales, and in geographical context, taking into consideration the way local art scenes emerge and develop by a process of capillarity.
The two platforms « Initiales / The journal », coinciding with each issue in spring and autumn, expand on their published portraits of historical and contemporary figures, presenting them in terms of their artistic heirs and how they are now being reinterpreted by a new generation of artists and critics.
The two platforms « Initiales / On stage », held alternately in summer and winter, are intended to foreground the importance of place by exploring transmission within a given territory. Art scenes regularly coalesce and develop. While art schools are not in themselves sufficient to spark this process, they do play a vital role as catalyst. This role is the focus of the new platform, which brings together key players while expanding its focus from the microcosm of the school to the wider local artistic ecosystem and how it feeds into the global artistic field. From journal to stage, from history to territory, and from the local to the global, the Rencontres Initiales set out to explore the full dynamics of artistic transmission.