Who are you and what do you do?

We are Rémi de Chiara and Laura Ben Haïba, a duo of visual artists. We also engage in educational work through workshops and occasional training sessions for other artists, teachers, or professionals.

We also create collaborative works with a wide range of audiences, from daycare centers to nursing homes.

Our practice revolves mainly around the visual arts: drawing, printmaking, graphic techniques… though we also create installations. We work both individually and as a duo, depending on the project.

Every workshop and every session is unique. Even when the technique remains similar, everything depends on the context, the people present, and the audience’s expectations. So we always adapt our way of working.

What benefits do you see in being part of a collective third place like Village Reille?

There are so many positives here. Having a private, quiet workspace is very valuable to us, but what we appreciate just as much is the opportunity to open our doors and meet the diverse people and practices present in the space.

The communal spaces play an important role: shared meals, events organized by the venue’s team, or festive occasions like the summer fair create genuine opportunities to connect.

As visual artists, this also allows us to actively participate in the life of the venue, both internally and with the outside public. This is particularly thanks to La Multi, where we’ve organized three introductory printmaking workshops in this new space that also helps bring the BOB to life.

Before that, we worked in spaces that were largely closed to the public. Having access today to spaces like La Multi represents a real opportunity. It’s also a challenge, because it requires rethinking our relationship with the public and the flow of people, but it provides a deeper understanding of the challenges facing a community space.

What is your current project?

Right now, we’re preparing workshops at La Multi on May 21 and June 11. The project is called “Eco-Engraving of a Third Place.”

Village Reille is a place that gives a lot of thought to issues of ecology, reuse, and the circular economy. In line with this, we’re offering engraving workshops using recycled materials. There are no prerequisites: the idea is that everyone can leave with a personal creation that’s accessible and rewarding.

The subject of the work is quite simply the BOB itself. We enjoy working with places steeped in history. The images used are inspired by photographs of the site, in order to preserve a collective and sensitive record of this place.

We’re also developing another project: a series of collaborative watercolors titled 97 Ways to Get Rid of a Car. In this collaboration, I do the drawing and Laura adds the color.

The project’s origins date back a few years, when our car broke down and failed its inspection. Rather than parting with it, we transformed it into a work of art. We partially dismantled it, and it became a nomadic project, serving as both an exhibition medium and an installation, both inside and on the roof of the vehicle.