Contemporary creation: into the beating heart of the POUSH artists’ residence
As the Paris contemporary art scene comes back to life (see related article in our PB magazine), our expert Laurent Issaurat, Head of Art Banking at Societe Generale Private Banking, crossed the threshold of POUSH — an artists’ residence exemplifying this creative effervescence. Launched in 2020, POUSH hosts over 250 artists today, a growing number of which are international. Laurent Issaurat met with its charismatic director, the curator Yvannoé Kruger.
Laurent Issaurat: What are the key dates and figures that define POUSH?
Yvannoé Kruger: Launched in March 2020 at the initiative of Hervé Digne and Laure Confavreux-Colliex, the founders of the cultural engineering agency Manifesto, POUSH is a space with local roots and a global reach where contemporary artists can create and exhibit. It was launched in March 2020 at the initiative of the Manifesto cultural engineering agency, and started out in the Tour Fudicial — a high-rise in the Paris suburb of Clichy. Together with most of the Clichy artists, the project migrated to another Paris suburb, Aubervilliers, in 2022 where it occupies 20,000 square metres of a former perfume factory (L.T. Piver), belonging to the Société de la Tour Eiffel, for a period of two years. Today we have over 250 artists with access to affordable creative studios (rent is around 10 euros per square metre per month). The space is highly sought-after by the artists, and choosing the artists themselves is no small matter: our last call for applications drew in over 700 applicants for 80 places.
Laurent Issaurat: What kind of artists is the residence for?
Yvannoé Kruger: We accommodate an extraordinarily wide range of practices: painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, but also writing, poetry, dance, musical composition and performance — any work that has the potential to resonate with other contemporary practices or manifest in visual pieces. The average age of the artists is around 35. Some residents are fresh out of art school, while others are already established and represented by a gallery, want exposure to the ebullience of younger generations. Geographically speaking, nearly 40% of our artists are foreign, hailing from the United States, Asia, Latin America, Africa, Central Europe, or elsewhere. This increasingly international representation without a doubt reflects the revived appeal of Paris in the creative space.
Laurent Issaurat: How are the studios arranged?
Yvannoé Kruger: For practices gravitating around drawing and painting for instance, the factory’s former administrative offices prove excellent individual work spaces in some cases. Artists of other practices may need specific equipment, in which case we offer them big studios that can accommodate four to eight creators. Ceramicists, for example, will work in an area where they can take out and bring in heavy objects and install kilns. Similarly, we have an entire floor dedicated to sound practices. Here we host the American composer Richard Sears, Anne Le Trotter, and the U2P050 collective from IRCAM (Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music) which designs immersive installations using artificial intelligence. This arrangement according to the specific needs of each artistic practice occurred quite naturally.
Laurent Issaurat: And am I right in understanding that the artists benefit from support well beyond square metres and equipment?
Yvannoé Kruger: Yes, that’s right. We support the residents in a so many ways: helping them prepare their applications for requests for proposals, drawing up contracts with galleries, filing tax returns, and so much more! And today we are fortunate enough to raise their visibility in a powerful way by bringing in professionals from the art world on a regular basis. More importantly, the artists have outstanding exhibition spaces at their disposal, including a 2,000 square-metre hall, a boxe in our bar-restaurant, La Bodega, as well as underground and outside spaces. All these areas of play and freedom for the artists make visitors “momentary witnesses” in a way. POUSH is also a place for socialising: our residents meet up during the day or the evening for drinks, coffee, or to taste the delicious cuisine of our chef. This “POUSH spirit” is probably why most of the artists decided to follow us when we moved from Clichy to Aubervilliers.
Laurent Issaurat: You mentioned visitors. Does that mean people can stop by?
Yvannoé Kruger: Absolutely! We are not a museum or an art centre open to the public in the traditional sense, but visitors can come to Aubervilliers to meet us and discover the work of our residents by appointment, on Pro Bono Days(1) or during our opening times, which we are expanding. Visitors can also view the work of guest artists, like during the recent “Félicités” exhibition from the Beaux-Arts de Paris. At the previous edition of the Paris+ par Art Basel fair in October last year, we welcomed many international art collectors and enthusiasts, some of whom had less difficulty crossing the city ring road — the périphérique — than some Parisians! For a New-Yorker or a Tokyoite, coming to Aubervilliers comes naturally once you are in Paris. It’s like crossing the Brooklyn Bridge when coming from Manhattan! We are organising more and more tours of our exhibitions, available by reservation, so that the general public — and especially local residents — can visit this emblematic venue in Seine-Saint-Denis that has long been inaccessible. So, please feel free to come and meet us. You are in for some wonderful surprises!
(1)For the quarterly Pro Bono Days, POUSH opens its doors to thousands of professionals from the local and international art world (curators, art historians, art dealers, collectors, and institution directors, etc.) so that they can meet the artists and see their work.
GENERAL DISCLAIMER :
Societe Generale Private Banking is the business line of the Societe Generale Group operating through its headquarters within Societe Generale S.A. and through departments, branches or subsidiaries, located in the territories mentioned below, acting under the brand name "Societe Generale Private Banking" and distributing this document.
This document, which is of an advertising nature, has no contractual value. Its content is not intended to provide an investment service, nor does it constitute investment advice or a personalized recommendation on a financial product, nor insurance advice or a personalized recommendation, nor a solicitation of any kind, nor legal, accounting or tax advice from any entity under the responsibility of Société Générale Private Banking.
The information contained herein is provided for information purposes only, is subject to change without notice, and is intended to provide information that may be useful in making a decision. The information on past performance that may be reproduced in no way guarantees future performance.
The private bankers of Société Générale Private Banking entities are at the disposal of potential investors to provide them with further information on the variations, within the Société Générale Private Banking entity concerned, of the themes presented in this document.
This document is confidential, intended exclusively for the person consulting it, and may not be communicated or brought to the attention of third parties, nor may it be reproduced in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of the Société Générale Private Banking entity concerned.
No Société Générale Private Banking entity may be held liable for any decision taken by an investor solely on the basis of the information contained in this document.
Société Générale Group maintains an effective administrative organization that takes all necessary measures to identify, control and manage conflicts of interest. To this end, Societe Generale Private Banking entities have put in place a conflict of interest policy to manage and prevent conflicts of interest. For more details, Societe Generale Private Banking clients can refer to the conflict of interest policy available on request from their private banker.
Societe Generale Private Banking has also implemented a client complaint handling policy, which is available on request from their private banker or on the Societe Generale Private Banking website (www.privatebanking.societegenerale.com).
SPECIFIC WARNINGS BY JURISDICTION
France: Unless expressly stated otherwise, this document is published and distributed by Société Générale, a French bank authorized and supervised by the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution, located at 4, place de Budapest, CS 92459, 75436 Paris Cedex 09, under the prudential supervision of the European Central Bank ("ECB") and registered with the ORIAS as an insurance intermediary under the number 07 022 493 orias.fr Societe Generale is a French société anonyme with a capital of EUR 1,010,261,206.25 as of February 1, 2023, whose registered office is located at 29, boulevard Haussmann, 75009 Paris, and whose unique identification number is 552 120 222 R.C.S. Paris. Further details are available on request or at www.privatebanking.societegenerale.com.
Luxembourg: This document is distributed in Luxembourg by Société Générale Luxembourg, a société anonyme registered with the Luxembourg Trade and Companies Register under number B 6061 and a credit institution authorized and regulated by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier ("CSSF"), under the prudential supervision of the European Central Bank ("ECB"), and having its registered office at 11, avenue Emile Reuter - L 2420 Luxembourg Further details are available on request or at www.societegenerale.lu. No investment decision whatsoever should be made solely on the basis of this document. Société Générale Luxembourg accepts no responsibility for the accuracy or otherwise of the information contained in this document. Societe Generale Luxembourg accepts no responsibility for any actions taken by the recipient of this document solely on the basis of this document, and Societe Generale Luxembourg does not represent itself as providing any advice, in particular with respect to investment services. The opinions, views and forecasts expressed in this document (including its annexes) reflect the personal views of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of any other person or Société Générale Luxembourg, unless otherwise stated. This document has been prepared by Société Générale. The CSSF has not carried out any analysis, verification or control on the content of this document.
Monaco: This document is distributed in Monaco by Société Générale Private Banking (Monaco) S.A.M., located at 11 avenue de Grande Bretagne, 98000 Monaco, Principality of Monaco, regulated by the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution and the Commission de Contrôle des Activités Financières. Financial products marketed in Monaco may be reserved for qualified investors in accordance with the provisions of Law n° 1.339 of 07/09/2007 and Sovereign Order n° 1.285 of 10/09/2007. Further details are available on request or on www.privatebanking.societegenerale.com.
Switzerland: This document may constitute advertising within the meaning of the Law on Financial Services ("LSFin"). It is distributed in Switzerland by SOCIETE GENERALE Private Banking (Suisse) SA ("SGPBS" or the "Bank"), whose registered office is at rue du Rhône 8, CH-1204 Geneva. SGPBS is a bank authorized by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). This document may in no way be considered as an investment advice or recommendation by SGPBS. The Bank recommends obtaining professional advice before acting or not acting on the basis of this document and does not accept any liability in connection with the content of this document. Financial instruments, including in particular units in collective investments and structured products, may only be offered in accordance with the LSFin. Further information is available on request from SGPBS or at www.privatebanking.societegenerale.com.
This document is not distributed by SG Kleinwort Hambros Bank Limited in the United Kingdom, nor by its branches in Jersey, Guernsey and Gibraltar, which together operate under the brand name "Kleinwort Hambros". Accordingly, the information provided and any offers, activities and financial and asset information presented do not relate to these entities and may not be authorized by these entities or appropriate in these jurisdictions. Further information on the activities of Societe Generale's private banking entities located in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar, including additional legal and regulatory information, is available at www.kleinworthambros.com
A new take on travel
A subtle blend of cultures
Interview by Laurent Issaurat, Head of Art Banking Services at Societe Generale Private Banking, with Sabrina Dolla,...
