The interdisciplinary Duchamp au Jardin workshops offer primary school pupils from 5 to 8P concrete ways of tackling issues of ecology and nature in the city through a dialogue with contemporary art, by interacting with artists' works and creating their own instructions.

Duchamp au Jardin arises out of the Biennial (re)connecting.earth (01) - Urban Gardening, focusing on the new forms of connection explored by city dwellers with the soil and nature within cities.

The workshops created by the Geneva-based association art-werk are continuing, with support from the Schools & Culture programme of the Department of Public Education (DIP).

● How do the workshops work?

The workshops are designed for three sessions of two 45-minute periods each, spaced one week apart. They are based on a series of instructions designed especially for the project by Swiss and international artists. These invite theoretical and practical interactions with nature in the city, and lead to performative actions and drawing.

After studying and activating the artist instructions, the students are invited to develop and create their own.

These new works become an integral part of the exhibition for children and are exhibited in the school at the end of the workshops.

● What topics are covered?

The workshops meet several objectives of the Educational Plan for Cycle 2 in French-speaking Switzerland (PER). Activating the instructions allows an interactive exchange to be developed on notions of biodiversity and urban ecology with an artistic and creative approach. The specific themes covered include the diversity of living things (such as plants and their roots), soil life and its functions, and the interactions between species and their environment.

● Where do the workshops take place?

In order to experience nature in the city more directly, at least one of the workshop sessions takes place outdoors, in a location close to the school chosen with the teacher. Remaining sessions take place in the classroom.

● Who leads the workshops?

The workshops are run by mediators from the art-werk association, who specialise in contemporary art and/or urban ecology. The school teacher should also be present during the workshops.

Would you like to organise Duchamp au Jardin workshops in your school? Contact us: