AER Conversations: Domaine de Boisbuchet, Design Architecture Nature, France

Speakers: Camilla Palestra, Mathias Schwartz-Clauss, Lisa Pettibone and Dr Laetitia Forst. The Art for the Environment Residency Programme (AER) provides UAL graduates with the opportunity to apply for a 2 to 4 week fully funded residency at one of our internationally renowned host institutions, to explore concerns that define the 21st century – biodiversity, environmental sustainability, social economy and human rights. Founded in 2015, internationally acclaimed artist Professor Lucy Orta, UAL Chair of Art for the Environment – Centre for Sustainable Fashion, launched the programme in partnership with international residency programmes and UAL Post-Grad Community. While the residencies are currently on pause due to the Covid-19 restrictions, Art for the Environment – Conversations aims to offer a platform in which ideas and experiences are exchanged. Within the current climate emergency, AER partners, residents and UAL alumni come together to reflect on the impact and legacy of their practices and to reflect on their creative role in envisioning a world of tomorrow. This series of conversations is organised by Camilla Palestra, AER Curator, Centre for Sustainable Fashion, in collaboration with UAL Post-Grad Community. Contact: Camilla Palestra c.palestra@fashion.arts.ac.uk This series of conversations is organised by Camilla Palestra, AER Curator, Centre for Sustainable Fashion in collaboration with UAL Post-Grad Community. Domaine de Boisbuchet. Design Architecture Nature integrates innovative architecture and design into the splendid setting of a 19th century French country estate, offering a unique creative and collaborative environment for people of all cultures to share. Boisbuchet's intensive workshop programmes invest deeply in cultures that respect the past and build for the future, at the same time stimulating research that promotes a more sustainable relationship between the natural and the man-made. Mathias Schwartz-Clauss is an art historian and curator. He studied art history and philosophy at Universität Trier and Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany. From 1992 until 2013 he was curator at the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, Germany, and in charge of numerous internationally travelling exhibitions and catalogues such as The World of Charles and Ray Eames, the first Ron Arad retrospective, Frank Lloyd Wright – The Living City, Living in Motion. Since 2013 he is responsible for workshops, exhibitions and the architectural park at Domaine de Boisbuchet in France. His special interests are aimed at the human condition and the intersection of design and art. Lisa Pettibone’s art practice questions how the world is put together in terms of energy, forces and form as filtered through human perception. Exploring through materials, she creates installation and sculpture (glass, fabric, paper, plastic) and uses photography and printmaking to investigate areas where man and nature intersect. Projects often incorporate research into scientific concepts, collaboration, or site-specific work. She was artist in residence at Mullard Space Science Lab (UCL) in 2019 and has an MA in Art and Science from Central Saint Martins, UAL. Laetitia Forst is a multi-technique textile designer whose practice explores the tension between technical challenges and creativity in sustainable design for textiles. Laetitia trained as a textile designer at ENSAD Paris before working as a freelance textile designer for fashion, interiors and consulting in eco-design. She carried out her PhD research about textile design for disassembly in the context of design for recycling at the Centre for Circular Design at Chelsea College of Arts.