Lecture: “A Bench-Fountain for the MADD”

© Jean-Baptiste Fastrez

Lecture "A fountain-bench for the madd"

Thursday, November 26th – 7PM

Book here

Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, Bordeaux
A discussion with Anne-Claire Duprat, director of the Foundation; Étienne Tornier, interim director of the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design in Bordeaux; and designer Jean-Baptiste Fastrez, focusing on a special commission: a glass-block water fountain bench, custom-made by the Foundation’s glass artisans, Valentin Rizzo and Gaëtan Oheix.


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

Book here

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

Book here

Cinéma Galaxy, Châteaubernard

Screening of films by Jean Painlevé (1902–1989), filmmaker, biologist, underwater wildlife expert, and pioneer of scientific cinema. The screening will be followed by a talk by Pia Viewing, art historian and curator of the exhibition Jean Painlevé. “Les pieds dans l’eau”, presented at the Jeu de Paume (Paris) in 2022.
In partnership with Eurociné.