ESMA Nantes campus joins Le Voyage à Nantes once again

A renewed collaboration with Le Voyage à Nantes

Every summer, the city of Nantes is transformed into a vast field for artistic experimentation. Le Voyage à Nantes, an internationally-renowned festival, offers a daring cultural journey through the urban space, inviting residents and visitors to discover the city in a new way. Monumental sculptures, unusual installations, temporary exhibitions and performances line the streets, museums and other forgotten facades, redefining the interaction between art and territory.

Once again this year, ESMA Nantes is enthusiastically taking part in this cultural adventure. Faithful to the partnership it initiated over five years ago with Le Voyage à Nantes, the school is part of this dynamic of creation and openness, proposing unique projects that combine innovation, transmission and visual expertise.

Through its active involvement in Le Voyage à Nantes, ESMA Nantes is committed to forging close links with local cultural institutions and the other schools in the Quartier de la Création on the Île de Nantes. This partnership reflects a shared desire to shine a light on the young talent trained in Nantes, to promote emerging creation and to anchor artistic education in an urban and contemporary dynamic.

An intriguing window display: “The strange shoemaker’s workshop”

On the campus façade, a window display catches the eye and arouses curiosity: “The strange shoemaker’s workshop.” Indeed, a small workshop, which seems straight out of another era, invites contemplation. Before the eyes of spectators, a series of objects are carefully arranged, as if the craftsman had just left the premises. At the heart of this installation created by students from the ESMA and CinéCréatis schools, strange-looking shoes take shape. Made using 3D printing, they evoke the shoemaker’s craft without ever revealing the craftsman himself. The tools are there, the shapes are evocative, but the human hand has disappeared. Faced with this ghostly craftsmanship, viewers are invited to consider shoes not as simple accessories but as symbols of a reinterpreted craft, between tradition and new technologies, prompting reflection on the usefulness of the object, its reality, its use, and also its manufacturing process.

Flash visits to discover the campus in a different way

At the same time as this installation, ESMA Nantes will be offering 30-minute flash tours of the campus every Thursday from 28 June to 31 August. The aim? To offer a behind-the-scenes look at the school, its workshops, teaching methods, student projects and philosophy. Last year’s productions by students as part of their collaboration with Le Voyage à Nantes – notably the curiosity cabinet La Bestiole – as well as screenings of animated films made as part of their course, are all highlights offered by the school, as part of the dynamic of the event.

ESMA’s participation in the Voyage à Nantes is also part of a wider reflection: how can we train for the creative professions while remaining connected to the region? How can schools open up to the city? By proposing artistic projects that are visible, accessible and designed for the public space, the campus is responding to these challenges with conviction.

Once again, the Voyage à Nantes 2025 promises to be rich, inventive and diverse. Through its participation, ESMA Nantes is helping to promote the city’s artistic vitality, while affirming its role as a committed cultural player. We look forward to seeing you on 28 June as you embark on this highly creative journey!