CAC Brétigny

“Kitaba”

As part of her residency, “Kitaba”, Charlotte Attal invites pupils from the Aprinivilla school in Avrainville to ask themselves the following questions: do you speak more than one language? Do you know letters that the others don’t?  Do you know how to write one word using different alphabets? Through a series of workshops, the artist offers the pupils the opportunity to explore tools from graphic design : logos, typography, posters, publishing. From writing to layout to printing, the pupils will try out different techniques and move towards new visual imaginations. This project, developed in collaboration with the school's teaching staff, opens a window onto contemporary art for reception class children up to year 6 through experiments, encounters and a programme of trips.

Charlotte Attal is a graphic designer and artist, with a strong interest in education and handing down. Her artworks and workshops take a social perspective on graphic design and form part of her  research into the heritage of languages and writing: these symbols are capable of preserving memory, transmitting messages and encoding secrets. For several years, Charlotte has been developing the project “Kitaba”, which means "writing" in phonetic Arabic. This project combines personal artistic research and workshops with different demographics. Working as a group, participants experiment by mixing  the Arabic and Latin alphabets to invent new narratives. The symbols, drawn in pencil, printed in ink or reproduced on paper, question the history and construction of our societies. 

^{Charlotte Attal graduated from the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs de Paris in 2020 with a degree in graphic design and multimedia. At the same school, she went on to complete an AIMS (Artists Intervening in the School Environment) postgraduate diploma . She also studied at the Taipei National University of the Arts in Taïwan. She develops residencies, workshops and exhibitions for a number of organisations, including RN13bis (Rouen), Centre Pompidou (Paris), Ateliers Médicis (Martinique) and Condition publique (Roubaix). Her background makes her a multifaceted artist who associates art, graphic design and education.}  

^{Charlotte Attal's Kitaba residency is part of a regional programme for cultural and artistic residencies in school settings and benefits from support  from the Île-de-France Regional Directorate for Cultural Affairs — Ministry of Culture.}