In Nice, 15,000 students benefit from the artistic and cultural education program “100% Culture at School”. The Château school opened its doors to us on November 23 to attend the workshops offered as part of this initiative.
They are between 4 and 5 years old and wiggle on foam mats, guided by the voice and gestures of Lisie Philip, a dancer from the Antipodes Company. These preschool students from the Château school are introduced to dance and become familiar with music. Stretching, somersaults, pirouettes—these young ones, most of them very attentive, learn to move their bodies in space by performing their first choreography.
This session is part of the initiative “Nice 100% Culture at School”. Initiated in 2021 by Christian Estrosi, this plan allows, in this 2023/2024 school year, 15,000 students from 81 schools to benefit from the intervention of 100 artists.
The goal is twofold: to make culture accessible to everyone from a young age and to support culture professionals. After this third session, where she works with the children on the theme of autumn through dance practice, Lisie Philip emphasizes the importance of “access for everyone to different forms of expression” in front of Jean-Luc Gagliolo, deputy delegate for Culture at School.
100% of Nice students concerned starting next school year
By next school year, the city of Nice announces the deployment of this program in all 149 public schools in the city. All students will be entitled to 12 hours of artistic and cultural education per year. Music, image, visual arts, live performance, heritage, and literature—the themes are varied.
A few floors up in the Château school, older students have their hands in the paint. The CM1-CM2 students, very receptive, follow the instructions of artist-author Sylvie T. They are introduced to architecture by creating works inspired by the Baroque movement. Engravings, drawings, sculptures—they try different techniques after an introductory visit to the Palais Lascaris, where their instructor exhibits.
For the artist, who has been teaching for over thirty years, these exchanges are win-win. She appreciates this transmission that feeds her own creativity while the students learn new concepts and skills. “Culture is essential, especially in our current society, here we pause, far from video and screen overconsumption.”
This initiative is partnered with the Ministry of National Education, the Ministry of Culture, and local cultural actors, and is financially supported by the “Riviera Réalisation Impact” Endowment Fund.
