Exhibition "Atelier Baibay ++", La Villa Sauvage

Originally, Atelier Baibay ++ is a family story. In the 1960s, Gilbert Baibay, a painter and sculptor, set up a creative workshop for young people: Atelier Baibay 11+. The first participants were his five children and their close friends. In this endeavor, he was assisted and supported by his wife, Simone Baibay-Struvay.

Gilbert Baibay was deeply convinced that every child intrinsically carries their own creative expression: a singular universe, a personal “signature”. The aim of the workshop was to bring forth and nurture this spontaneous creativity by offering children and young people a rich and varied environment, a true invitation to discovery and exploration: diverse materials and media, as well as art books from different cultures and works devoted to indigenous peoples.

Far from technical classes, this workshop was not based on gestures to be mastered, proportions to be respected, or models to be reproduced. There was no demanding teacher and no judging gaze, but rather a benevolent and amazed witness. Above all, it was a space for experimentation, opening up the field of possibilities.

In this spirit of freedom, everyone was able to find and develop their own form of expression. Some continued their path elsewhere and in different ways; a few attended art school while preserving their individuality intact; others flourished in different modes of expression such as music, photography, writing, dance, or theatre.

Today, with Gilbert and Simone Baibay having moved on to other spheres, a new generation has arrived, notably bringing contemporary media and techniques (multimedia). Other artists, sensitive to this approach, have joined the adventure. The “workshop” was thus renamed Atelier Baibay ++, and the adventure continues, in a different way.

Exhibition opening: Sunday, January 18, from 5 p.m.