Au Sardier, l’art à la portée de tous
In its Sardier workshop, Ophélie Berbain plays with sounds and colors to make artistic practice accessible to everyone.
Public chat the heights of Cunlhat, in the hamlet of Sardier, just walk through the door and let yourself be carried away.
In this workshop dedicated to “free artistic practices”, as its designer Ophélie Berbain presents it, everything is done to make you feel at ease. “Thought like a cocoon”, suggests the young woman who has gone through long studies of music, practices and theory, conservatory teacher in Thiers for 15 years.
Opened six years ago, “but before creating it, it was already in my head”, the Atelier du Sardier did not take long to find its current form. It now offers more than half a dozen activities, from plastic art to music (a collection of 150 instruments where all families from all continents are represented) via a library.
Painting piano or pebble carpet
In a small group and during a two-hour session supervised by Ophélie Berbain, the public is invited to appropriate the space as they see fit. “It's up to people to choose their activities and change them as many times as they want”. In his Sardier workshop, Ophélie Berbain plays with sounds and colors to make artistic practice accessible to everyone, explains Ophélie, highlighting the qualities specific to each workshop. The desert sand tent: a kind of magic picture. “It's very zen and people quickly get caught up in the game. We create unsuspected aesthetic forms. » Le Jeu de la slip: « Here, we work in negative and without intermediate tool, the drawings are close to Arabic calligraphy. »
Past the Piano aux couleurs, a huge rainbow of paint in which the public is encouraged to draw to compose their creations, Ophélie invites you to join her in the space dedicated to music. “Here, it's about giving the possibility of using an instrument. In life, not everyone has access to it. The important thing is to be in the game. Take this harp, whatever you do with it, it sounds good. »
As a facilitator
Positioning herself as a “facilitator” rather than a teacher in the classic sense of the term, the professional intends to accompany each of the learners on their own journey. Above all, do not impose anything but take advantage of your experience and knowledge to facilitate the process of creativity specific to each person.
Desecrating the relationship to art
At the Atelier du Sardier, Ophélie bets on the game and tries to maintain the wonder. “You can't separate it from learning,” she says. It is a way of observing and creating in a positive way. » Open to all audiences, « babies, young people, adults, families, French-speaking or not, but also people with reduced mobility », the Atelier du Sardier has always aimed to desacralize the relationship to culture and artistic practices.
Refusing "any form of elitism", the young woman works precisely to deconstruct barriers and prejudices. A real fight to fight. “I would like the Atelier du Sardier to be even better integrated into the tourist landscape,” explains Ophélie, who would almost banish the word “art” from her vocabulary. I will have the feeling of having succeeded when people hesitate between the swimming pool, the golf course or the Workshop. »
