The performing library

A project developed with female inmates at the Fresnes prison , (FR) in partnership with the MAC VAL, Museum of Contemporary Art of Val de Marne, accompanied in 2017 and 2018 by Thibault Capéran, cultural programmer at the museum and Marion Guilemot, Sou-Maella Bolmey and Marc Brouzeng-Lacoustille, lecturers.

Imagined for and with groups of female detainees, the project explored women’s representation in literature and visual arts through a performative approach.

Combining writing, reading, and materials ranging from magazines to novels, participants created real and fictional self-portraits.

Drawing on contemporary dance, theatre, and meditation, the process further engaged both body and voice to bring these portraits to life in staged performances.

The project encouraged new ways of perceiving oneself and others, fostering observation, imagination, body imaging and a sense of freedom within a constrained environment.