In a nod to the national manufacturing revival of the late 19th century, this brand new campus opens its doors under the name MaNa. Dedicated to the creation of French and international crafts, the MaNa Campus offers innovative teaching methods based on the know-how and expertise of professionals in design, architecture and crafts.
Founder of Dariel Studio and co-founder of Maison Dada, Thomas Dariel has finally made his childhood dream come true by imagining this most bucolic place of creation and training. He has surrounded himself with brilliant professionals. Marc Partouche, former director of ENSAD, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels, the Ecole Supérieure d’Art de Paris-Cergy and former scientific director of the Cité Internationale du Design in Saint-Etienne, is the Dean of the campus and is responsible for its educational ambitions. Raphaël Cuir, art historian, former scientific coordinator of the Chair of Research in Creation and Creativity at the Cité du Design and researcher at the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles, among others, is in charge of the general management of the place.
A multidisciplinary transmission
On Friday, April 7, its doors officially opened and offer an idyllic working environment to the instructors and the 12 resident learners of this first class. Located in Champignelles in Burgundy, the former veterinary school of Maison Alfort has undergone a real facelift to make way for premises in keeping with the philosophy of the campus: a creative interlude where nature is omnipresent. In the heart of the 40 hectares of forests, hedgerows, ponds and other natural areas of La Puisaye, classified as “Natura 2000”, three workshops are scattered around.
All equipped with dedicated machines, they are divided into a 400 m2 wood workshop, a second of 200 m2 dedicated to metal and a third of 400 m2 dedicated to ceramics. The mathematical library and the amphitheater are not to be outdone and offer samples of natural and innovative materials and master classes and other specialized conferences. Here, the fields of creation are in the spotlight, with a focus on multidisciplinarity, multiculturalism and the consideration of sustainable development issues, all developed in a clear and concise manifesto.
Cécile Papapietro-Matsuda
