Irene Kopelman lors de ses recherches en résidence © Photo : Aldine Amiel
“Workstation Nice was the moment when the outcome of my long-term collaboration with Tiozzo Lab at the Institute de la Mer de Villefranche-sur-Mer, Röttinger Lab at the Institute for Research on Cancer and Aging, and MAMAC—Musée d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporain (all in Nice), was shared with the wider public for the first time.
It would be easy to regard the Workstation as a community outreach project. Whilst naturally there is a desire to reach out to a larger audience and elaborate on perhaps unusual subjects such as the relationship between tiny marine animals and contemporary art, the project’s aim went beyond the communication and the educational purposes. For me, it was a way to think through a given topic with others, regardless of their field of expertise or age. It was a shared experience of co-learning —not only for audiences but also for us, creators and organisers. The results of the workshops far exceeded my expectations, dreams even. I was grateful to all of the participants and the collaborators who inhabited the space in the various roles that they played.
What we gained in just two weeks might be difficult to describe but the experience of everyone involved at different levels will live on in the vast number of drawings produced. The animal life cycle captured through the process of us learning how to communicate it, and how to open a space for meaningful interaction and partnership between institutions, knowledges, backgrounds, and ages. The crossovers at the Workstation were not only between art and science, but they also pointed to many other—new—directions. Experiences are difficult to quantify, and the power of art lies in the immeasurable. The Workstation will stay with each of us through our memories, but also through the drawings—the visible traces of our collective experience.”
Irene Kopelman