Workshops at Collège de la Barre
5 classes / 3 workshops
Eighty students from Collège de la Barre, ages 6 to 10, became explorers for the duration of three workshops, with the mission of uncovering and sharing everything they knew or had learned about the Riponne-Tunnel neighborhood!
As neighbors of La Riponne and Le Tunnel, they have a special connection to these areas that deserves to be recognized and represented. By talking about their daily lives, they shared their perspectives and gave us insight into how they live in the neighborhood.
An Educational Context
The school setting made it possible to meet with the children several times, thereby enabling us to organize comprehensive workshops involving a large number of children from diverse backgrounds, regardless of their cultural background or their families’ interest in the project. As full-fledged participants in the initiative, they—like other residents and users involved in the project—became advocates, sharing information about the process with their friends and the adults around them. Teachers also played a vital role by allowing Ville en tête to work in their classrooms, and, thanks to their knowledge of the children, they helped facilitate an understanding of certain points of view and drawings.
Comments gathered in the field
While exploring the Riponne-Tunnel area, the explorers identified and commented on various locations. Using historical photos, they compared how these spaces are used today with how they were used in the past, noting what has changed and what remains the same. A “telescope” was used to zoom in on certain details and spark discussions.
Drawings
Each explorer has made their mark in the neighborhood’s public space.
The locations depicted were annotated and marked on a large aerial photo of the neighborhood to place them in a broader context. The drawings reveal the students’ daily lives, an event that left a mark on them, what they do in the neighborhood, or what is important to them. Drawing is a way of telling a story.
Collective mind maps
Working in groups of 4 or 5, the explorers pooled their discoveries and compared their perspectives by connecting their drawings along a route from Place du Tunnel to Place de la Riponne—or vice versa. The discussions were rich because the gaps between the drawings had to be filled in, the route had to be discussed, and landmarks had to be shared and coordinated.
Audio Postcards
The workshops are accompanied by audio recordings and written accounts that help preserve a record of the discussions that took place. Audio postcards, created by Victoria Turrian, immerse us in the atmosphere of the workshops held with the children. They reveal an impressionistic picture of the workshops and allow us to sketch the contours of the Riponne-Tunnel universe as the children perceive it.
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