The Lullabies 2021 – 2023

This annual community engagement project took place between 2021 and the beginning of 2023 in the cultural and early childhood organisations in Villiers-le-Bel, in connection with the creative stages of the show “L’Autre de Moi“. It is part of the continuity of the reflections on the parent-child relationship undertaken by the ACTA company in its major project “Childhood and Parenthood“. The artistic proposal of the project was centred on the sensitive universe of lullabies as a receptacle for the theme of separation and comfort between the child and the adult, but also as an intergenerational memory of the parent-child bond, which is very important for the toddler. The multicultural context of the city is considered an invaluable asset and was therefore taken into account in a central way in collaboration with the various cultural associations of Villiers-le-Bel.

2022

7 intergenerationnal and multicultural sharing-meetings intergénérationnels et interculturels at the Boris Vian community centre and the charity Bel Epi, a social food store in the town, through workshops facilitated by the artist Anne Cammas.

In contrast to the intimate relationship explored in the 2021 project, we wanted to open up the cultural narratives of each individual via the lullaby to the scale of the group and its different cultural heritages in 2022.

Recordings have been made, which make it possible to create listening times, from one workshop to another, from one group to another, but which also constitute testimonies.

8 workshops for very young children in the childcare centres Les Pitchouns and Arc-en-Ciel in Villiers-le-Bel. Two artists, Céline Laly and Clémentine Poul, proposed vocal and musical experiments to the children and professionals.

“The children seem to understand the workshop perfectly. However, the freedom of action that is “granted” to them during these times is often seized by the group. Although it is not verbalised at the beginning of the session, the children perceive it. The team found the two workshops suitable for the children. Some were even lulled to sleep by the rhymes. The handling of objects in connection with the rhymes is a real plus, which encourages interaction with the children.

Clémentine Poul

2021

The project took place in two partly overlapping phases with the artist Anne Cammas, with two training sessions led by Margotte Fricoteaux and Corine Zongo-Wable before and after. These training sessions allowed us to consider and understand the cultural heritage of the groups present in the local community, the importance of their testimonies and the link that is played out in the lullaby, in order to better understand the intentions and the development of the workshops.

An intergenerational and multicultural sharing-meeting at the community centre Camille Claudel, the Bel Epi charity, and the LAEP around cultural backgrounds, nursery rhymes, lullabies, songs, and transmitted knowledge. The point was to help the participants connect to their imagination, and to listen to one another.

Then, a time of practical application with musical workshops led by Anne Cammas working with parents and young children attending the Arc-en-Ciel and Les Pitchouns childcare centres in Villiers-le-Bel.

“This workshop has enabled families who have little time at the drop-in centre to share a moment with their child, or even simply with other adults. It has been a vector of social bonding.”

Halte-Jeux Arc-en-Ciel

A very nice welcome again at the social grocery shop. Anita receives the beneficiaries, explains briefly our lullaby project and introduces me to the people who arrive. I have a special, even intimate relationship with each of them.

Anne Cammas