Valentia and e-artsup Nice: two weeks to tell the story of crafts differently

For two weeks, Valentia led a workshop with students from e-artsup Nice, supported by Caroline Tronconi, artistic director and project lead. The work focused on a central question for Valentia: how can we spark young people’s interest in crafts, heritage and French savoir-faire without trapping these subjects in an institutional, static or overly distant tone? The students went out into the field in Nice to meet artisans and discover several heritage sites. They worked in particular with Ély Reliure, master bookbinder, and Monolyt, a jewellery and goldsmithing workshop, both of whom opened their doors and shared their world, their gestures and their relationship with materials. The workshop was also shaped by visits to the Musée Masséna, the Palais Lascaris and other places in the centre of Nice. From these encounters, the students produced videos, social media content proposals, visual identity directions and short-form formats designed to make these worlds more accessible, more alive and more desirable for a younger audience. Some projects particularly stood out to Valentia for their quality, sensitivity and ability to translate gestures, materials, places and people through a contemporary lens. Valentia would first like to thank the students for their commitment, creativity and the quality of the work they produced. Thank you also to Ély Reliure and Monolyt for their warm welcome and generosity, to Caroline Tronconi for her demanding and thoughtful guidance throughout the workshop, and to e-artsup Nice for making this project possible. Valentia also thanks the heritage sites visited, including the Musée Masséna and the Palais Lascaris, which helped shape the students’ perspective and productions. For Valentia, this workshop marks an important step. It shows that living heritage can be told differently: with high standards, but without distance; with respect, but without rigidity; with the codes of social media, but without betraying the people, gestures and savoir-faire behind it. It also confirms one of Valentia’s core convictions: to pass heritage on to new generations, we need to give them the opportunity to look at it, interpret it and tell its story themselves.