Marie Schenck, sharing art

LET'S CHAT
 

Hello Marie,

Delighted to welcome you in our portrait gallery,

Could you tell us about your career? What was your training?

My career path is somewhat atypical... In Metz, I worked as a florist, studied at the Beaux-Arts, worked as a layout artist in an advertising agency, then travelled for several years in South-East Asia. Coming back home, I resumed my status as a Fine Arts student, but this time at university.

I moved to Uzès in 2000 and took care of my two children, before starting to collaborate to the Maison des Jeunes et de la Culture d'Uzès in 2008. I joined first as a visual arts workshop leader and, in 2014, I took a course to become a cultural mediator.

In 2019 I became a teacher-trainer in visual arts and fine arts at the Faculty of Education in Nîmes.

These different roles give me the chance to be in contact with people of different ages, to meet many artists and to experience the teaching of Visual Arts to the full, both theoretically and practically.

You run craft workshops. What was your first artistic love?

Tricky question! There are so many artists, places, works and experiences that come to mind... The memories of my first artistic shocks are so numerous that I can't list them all!

Ever since I was little, I've always had a keen interest in the visual arts. I loved tinkering, creating my own toys and drawing. As a teenager, I was lucky enough to volunteer with the founding artists of the Passages contemporary art centre. Looking back, I think it's largely thanks to them that I've never left the artistic sphere.

We regularly see you at the MJC in Uzès. Tell us more about your workshops?

When organising my workshops, I try to create a friendly atmosphere that encourages creativity. As for the content, I adapt it according to the age of the audience. However, each sequence is always structured around these 3 components: visual arts, theory and culture.

I listen to participants' requests and always respond to them. I share my expertise and attach great importance to enriching the vocabulary specific to the visual arts, because words help to organise thought.

I regularly emphasise the cross-disciplinary nature of the visual arts, because when we produce two- or three-dimensional creations, we often include mathematics, physics and art history. We also think about space, how not to make a mess, how to respect each others... It's a discipline that calls on a wide range of skills.

I sometimes use the calendar as a guide: International Children's Rights Day, Women's Rights Day, Aids Action Day, La grande lessive, etc. These weekly workshops are aimed at children aged between 6 and 11 and teenagers aged between 12 and 18. In response to numerous requests, in 2025 I will be opening a workshop for adults.

Your exhibitions punctuate the cultural and artistic life of media libraries, community centres, etc. They often, if not always, feature nature...

The way I look at life and the world has always been through the prism of ecology and, to quote Prévert, who this year was the theme of my Avril en balade event ‘... I am like that and I can't change a thing...’.

The group exhibitions and the many other cultural activities I organise every year are designed to bring out the creative energy that lies in all of us. I find great satisfaction in helping people to discover and develop their artistic talents. I want to convey a sense of well-being through the development of emotional intelligence and imagination. I think only Art can help us to do that.

What are your plans for the coming months?

Since the end of March 2024, I've been organising a new shared exhibition on the theme of The Art of Conversation. Over 70 participants have already been inspired by this theme.

The exhibition is travelling around the Uzège library network, adding new creations at each stop. After Garrigues-Sainte-Eulalie from 29 March to April, the exhibition ‘L'art de la conversation’ travels to Sanilhac from 25 April to 29 May. Then it's on to Montaren from 30 May to 22 June. Other dates are still to come.

Would you like to add a comment or an anecdote?

If your readers want to find out more about the MJC's cultural activities, I'm here to help, of course. So here is my email: marie.mjcuzes@gmail.com.

Many thanks to Marie Schenck for her collaboration to this article.

The right address: MJC Uzès, Place de Verdun, Uzès. Contact: marie.mjcuzes@gmail.com.