For the 2022 Cultural Olympiads, cneai = plays with the rules and objects of sports by pairing 7 artists with 7 Olympic disciplines, practiced at the PUC (Paris University Club), a partner of cneai =.

cneai = invites Clément Courgeon, Antoine Dufeu, Simon Nicaise, Néféli Papadimouli, Laurent Perbos, Alexandra Riss for cross-residences for research and creation at cneai = and PUC. These residencies aim to create new sports objects, reinterpreted from the originals through close collaboration between an artist and an athlete. They include workshops between artists and amateur and professional athletes from the PUC, generating the rewriting of new rules for the sport associated with the reinterpreted sports objects.

Throughout the summer, these new objects and new rules will be activated for young audiences, and in September.

Dates

July 16, 2 PM – 6 PM: Open activation at Parti Poétique – Zone Sensible, in St-Denis.

September 25, 12 PM – 6 PM: Grand tournament for all and opening of the exhibition restitution at the Social Club of the PUC.

A sport is, by definition, a “physical activity that takes the form of a game or competition, following determined rules.” These rules, typically written, are managed by authoritative bodies, such as the “Laws of the Game” regulating football under the International Football Association Board.

Rules guarantee discipline, impartiality, justice, and a sense of camaraderie for all sports. They serve as a kind of measure of “fair play.” Especially in an Olympic context, where countries compete, rules might be the only common language understood by everyone: athletes, coaches, audiences, referees.

Following rules come the associated accessories, inseparable equipment for practicing certain sports: balls, rackets, kimonos, weights, cleats… These objects serve precise and imperative purposes: some artists have even played with them, like Massimo Furlan, who in 2018 created “Le Cauchemar de Seville,” a precise and rigorous reenactment of the 1982 World Cup semi-final match between France and Germany in Seville, but without a ball.

These objects are linked to a certain idea of performance, and brands strive to offer the best possible equipment, the complete gear of a winner. These utilitarian objects also possess strong plasticity, inspiring artists to subvert them into a sculptural dimension that blurs the boundaries between utility, aesthetics, and performance with humor and mischief.

Alexandra Riss, born in 1992, lives and works between Paris and Tours. Like a poetic voyage, Alexandra Riss’s works oscillate between observing reality and constructing fiction. She disposes of the memories and objects that surround her, convinced that the best way to address others is to start from her own experience.

Simon Nicaise, born 1982 in Rouen, lives in Paris, graduated from the École des Beaux-Arts de Rouen in 2008. Co-founder of radio*DUUU - Unités Radiophoniques Mobiles.

Laurent Perbos, born in 1977, lives and works in Marseille. In the pure tradition of assemblage, Laurent Perbos’ work questions the way in which ordinary things, once revisited, become more of a narrative than an image.

Antoine Dufeu is a poet, writer, researcher and theorist. He is a publisher, journalist, teacher and translator. He founded Lic (publishing, research…). He forms the duo Lubovda with Valentina Traïanova. He co-edits the poetry magazine RIP with Frank Smith. He is a member of the editorial board of Multitudes magazine.

Clément Courgeon, born in 1997, lives and works in Pantin. “My work is a burrow, a refuge in absurdity. It’s articulated through the encounter of multiple mediums: photography, performance, painting, costume and prop making. These elements come together to form an envelope that triggers my performances.

Néféli Papadimouli, born in Greece in 1988, lives and works in Paris. A graduate of the School of Architecture at the National Polytechnic University of Athens and the Beaux-Arts de Paris. She composes her works from pre-existing material elements taken from society, which she arranges or assembles, or even merges, so that new apprehensions of reality can emerge.

Raphaël-Bachir Osman, born in 1992, lives and works in Mulhouse and Berlin. Graduated from the Haute École des Arts du Rhin with honors. Raphaël-Bachir Osman plays with the exhibition space and the pictorial space. He plays with the subjects and codes of painting, incorporating a certain magic of the ordinary and banal. He sees his works as serious recreations, and extracts fragments and details from his everyday life, from encounters with objects that catch his eye: a pretzel, a scallop, a Christmas gherkin ball…

With the support of the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs of Île-de-France - Ministry of Culture as part of the 2022 Cultural Summer, the Île-de-France Region, and the City of Paris for the Cultural Olympiads in partnership with the PUC (Paris University Club), *DUUU Radio, Zone Sensible–Le Parti Poétique, Le Centre Culturel Chaplin, and leisure centers in Île-de-France.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION
{CNEAI - Cité internationale Universitaire - 17 boulevard Jourdan, 75014 Paris
PUC - Paris Université Club - 17 avenue Pierre de Coubertin, 75013 Paris}

PARTNERS
{PUC (Paris Université Club)} {Ministère de la Culture} {Ville de Paris} {Région Ile-de-France}