Institute for the Arts and Creation: transforming education through the arts

he Institute for the Arts and Creation has developed initiatives with numerous researchers and teachers to support the transformation of teaching through and with the arts. We experiment with different training methods, and new ways of assessing students, relying on a body of work or artistic translation, encouraging creativity and reflexivity.

The power of artistic transmission goes hand in hand with teaching. We are in constant contact with the Undergraduate College and various schools of Sciences Po to develop this work and to co-design joint events.

In June, we will organize a feedback day on the experiences conducted by the teachers this semester. The initial reactions are very positive.

Artistic expression encourages venturing into the unknown, creating in the face of a blank page, listening, experimenting, opening up to the world, overcoming the sensation of failure, taking risks, finding, and projecting a voice. In this way, it is fundamental in any educational journey, to best prepare students to embrace present and future challenges.

The overall assessment is very positive and promising for future developments. From the students’ perspective, the Institute for the Arts and Creation has expanded for and with them. They have enthusiastically supported the artistic creation workshops with resident artists such as Karine Tuil or Mathieu Amalric, as well as the writers who have joined us since the creation of the Writing and Rhetoric Center in 2019. They have also been involved in preparing and facilitating meetings with artists. The learning encompasses both content and form.

Beyond the training programs, research centers, and laboratories, we have undertaken internal actions in partnership with multiple entities: the Equal Opportunities Division, the Library, the Engagement Directorate, etc. We have also been keen to open writing workshops for employees and alumni and to organize significant events such as the improvised choreography with Benjamin Millepied on the steps of the Saint-Thomas campus.

For the coming year, the goals are to continue the development of the projects initiated in collaboration with the various communities, such as those on experimentation in teaching, to support new ideas, especially those from the permanent faculty, whom we increasingly assist in inviting artists to conferences or cross-disciplinary courses.

We also wish to continue the deployment of activities related to civic actions, such as the initiative undertaken with the Undergraduate College where students accompany hospital patients in reading and creative writing. The paths of exploration and achievements are numerous and illustrate the richness of the connection between the humanities and social sciences and the arts.