Seeds of the future: when Art serves the Environment

The local agency for the energy and the climate, ALEC, launched « Seeds of the Future » in october 2013. This art competition open to students of Rhone-Alpes aims to explore innovative patterns regarding the energy transition. The two winning projects were presented to the public at the Experimenta Fair, organized in october in Grenoble. A closer look at this experimentation.

Revealing young artistic talents while raising awareness on the energy transition, this is the goal pursued by ALEC (local agency for energy and climate), in partnership with Ageden, Ateliers Arts Sciences and Hespul when they launched the « Seeds of the Future » project in october 2013.

« Our organizations aim to raise awareness and gather all the actors of the energy transition. While it’s easy to collaborate with insiders already convinced, we wish to broaden our scope. Art is a way to appeal to students and a larger audience. It’s a less formal and scientific approach » explains Genevieve Goubel, project manager at ALEC in Grenoble.

Two artistic projects for one cause

Between january and march, a professional jury selected two projects based on their easiness to reproduce and the effectiveness of their message.

The first, entitled « Train-Train » was created by Daphne Madec, a student from the Lyon Emile Cohl School of Arts. With a touch of humor, she presents 5 comics exploring the consequences of our daily routines on the environment. The drawings are simple, clear, fun and effectively inviting to a personal check.

The second winner, Remy Vigneron, student at the Grenoble School of Architecture co-created with Nicolas Huille a piece called « Eolitale », urban furniture piece of art operating with solar energy. The lightning works on a solar panel, lithium batteries and a tailor-made LED system.

Raising awareness effectively

The experimentation was a success, however will not be met by more fundings. Genevieve Goubel feels it remains a great idea, mixing science and art, and a fabulous way to raise awareness with the public. « Now we’re thinking about the best use of this art in our facilities, perhaps publish Daphne Madec’s comics or sell Remy Vigneron’s urban furniture to local communities.«