Roundtable Discussion - European Heritage Days
© Chloé Azzopardi
Roundtable Discussion - European Heritage Days
Saturday, September 19th – 6PM
As part of the European Heritage Days, exhibition curator Emilie Villez will lead the discussion “Living Alliances: Building an Ecological Imagination,” an exploration of how artists use storytelling to reshape our understanding of the world and our relationship with all living things.
Joining her for the conversation will be Zoé Sauvage, author of the graphic novel The Scientific Fairies; Camille Prunet, an art historian specialising in the intersections of art and science; and Chloé Azzopardi, photographer and resident at the Fondation Martell.
A curated selection of books chosen by Emilie Villez will also be available for purchase from Le Texte Libre.
“Design and Medical Care” Seminar with the VULCA Chair
“Design and Medical Care” Seminar with the VULCA Chair
Thursday, September 24th – 6PM
The seminar of the VULCA Chair (led by ENSAD-PSL, ENS, and the Institut Imagine) will explore the links between capabilities and experiential knowledge in the context of genetic diseases, at the intersection of medicine, the humanities, and design. Over five days, researchers, designers, physicians, and doctoral students will work collectively on the concrete conditions that make sustainable forms of life possible, notably by examining patient knowledge and the contributions of research through creative practice. Organized at the Fondation Martell, this seminar will combine plenary sessions, project presentations, and collaborative writing workshops in order to bring forth new interdisciplinary research perspectives.
Public Presentation on Thursday September 24
Silvana Mc Nulty - Tying, Weaving, Embroidering, and Binding!
© Silvana Mc Nulty
Silvana Mc Nulty - Tying, Weaving, Embroidering, and Binding!
Wednesday, September 23rd – 2PM-5PM
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Ordinaire Extra ! workshop
Encounters with Living Things
Off-site events
From Thurday 15 to Sunday 18th of October, 2026
The Fondation d’entreprise Martell is partnering with the inaugural edition of the Rencontres de Rochefort, a multidisciplinary event bringing together professionals from the fields of culture, heritage, research and regional development to explore the interactions between land and sea through the lens of water, its uses, and the challenges of its preservation.
On Saturday 17 October, from 4 to 5 p.m., the round table “The Voice of the Arts: Creators from Source to Sea” will bring together Armand Behar, researcher and lecturer at ENSCI, designers Antoine Behaghel and Isabelle Daëron, and dramaturge Anne Chaniolleau. Exploring the theme of waters in transition, the participants will present their creative projects and share experiences rooted in marshes, rivers and the ocean.
Off-Site event : Palais des Congrès, Salle Pierre Loti, Rochefort.
Free admission, no reservation required.
Antoine Behaghel's Residency Showcase
Antoine Behaghel's residency showcase
Wednesday, October 14th – 6:30 PM
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At the conclusion of his residency at the Foundation and in the Marais d’Yves, designer Antoine Behaghel will present new glass pieces that will be featured in the exhibition “Artifices Chlorophylliens” in the Planctonarium. The residency will conclude with a tour of the space, conceived as a hybrid venue at the intersection of design and science.
Anja Madsen Pernot - The Garden of Chimeras
© Anja Madsen Pernot
Anja Madsen Pernot - The Garden of Chimeras
Wednesday, October 21st – 2PM-5PM
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Atelier Ordinaire Extra !
Lecture: “A Bench-Fountain for the MADD”
© Jean-Baptiste Fastrez
Lecture "A fountain-bench for the madd"
Thursday, November 26th – 7PM
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Lecture: “Living in and Representing a World Beyond the Human”
© Robert Zhao Renhui, A frigatebird drinking in an abandoned pool on Christmas Island, 2018
Lecture: “Inhabiting and representing a more-than-human world : reflexions on artistic and curatorial practices."
Friday, November 13th – 7PM
Patrick Ricard Auditorium, 1, cours Paul Ricard, 75008 Paris
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In conjunction with the exhibition “The Monkey and the Clay”, curated bey Émilie Villez, this panel discussion will bring together artist Robert Zhao Renhui, curator Manuel Cirauqui, and the director of the Kunsthalle Bern, iLiana Fokianaki, to explore the concept of the “more-than-human”*.
Through the intersecting perspectives of the artists and curators, the discussion will explore how contemporary practices represent the intertwining of living beings and the place of humans in a shared world.
Manuel Cirauqui, curator of the exhibition “The Arts of the Earth” at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (2025-26), will discuss artistic practices related to the regeneration of ecosystems as part of the museum’s project exploring production processes.
iLiana Fokianaki, Director of the Kunsthalle Bern, will reflect on the solo exhibition by Lin May Saeed, that she organized in 2026. In her work, the Iraqi-German artist and activist envisioned a harmonious coexistence between humans and animals, inspired by ancestral narratives that laid the foundations for premodern states.
Singaporean artist Robert Zhao Renhui uses photography and video to explore what he calls ‘New Nature’—the ways in which animals adapt to, inhabit and reshape spaces transformed by human activity, giving rise to unexpected forms of coexistence.
Event held in English.
“More-than-human”*: a concept that invites us to think about the world beyond human beings, by considering the relationships between humans, animals, plants, materials, technologies, and environments. This term first appeared in David Abram’s book *The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World* (1997). French translation: “Comment la terre s’est tue. Pour une écologie des sens,” published by La Découverte, 2013.
Screening of Films by Jean Painlevé
© Jean PAINLEVÉ Hippocampe femelle, vers 1934-1935, Épreuve gélatino-argentique solarisé, Les Documents Cinématographiques/Archives Jean Painlevé
Screenings of Films by Jean Painlevé
Wednesday, December 9th – 8:30 PM
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Cinéma Galaxy, Châteaubernard
Médecine Castor - Embroidery Workshop with Inès Cassigneul
© Inès Cassigneul
Médecine Castor - Embroidery workshop with Inès Cassigneul
Wednesday, December 2nd – 2PM-5PM
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