The school chair upside down

The School Chair Upside Down  is a pilot project carried out at the French Lycée in Warsaw, Poland with two classes—6th grade and 8th grade—in collaboration with Mathilde Papapietro (art teacher) and with the participation of cineaste Maciek Hamela, in 2011/2012.

Between visual arts, dance, and video.
Using their classroom chairs as a starting point, students—guided by their visual arts teacher—are encouraged to let their imaginations run free. What if this chair were made of ceramic, cardboard, or feathers?

The next stage weaves connections between visual arts and physical education classes. By placing paintings by Matisse or Picasso inside the gymnasium, new dances emerge every day in the sports hall.

The third module explores choreography, understood as the organization of bodies in time and space. We take a closer look at filmed dance through advertising spots, music videos, and artists’ videos that surround us. Later on visits a professional filmmaker then introduces students to framing and camera work. Finally, we move into action—each student creates a dance film, accompanied by their reimagined classroom chair.

Special thanks to Maciek Hamela, Mrs. Kasia Lal and Mr. Wojtek Kuznik; without them, this project would not have been possible.