Partnerships with schools

Our partnership with schools began with the four schools near La FabricA, in the Monclar neighbourhood: Scheppler, Louis Gros, Saint-Roch, and Perrin-Monclar. Several long-term residencies took place in those schools with Anne-Karine Lescop and her show Petit projet de la matière in 2011, and with Groupe F and their two creations, En Avant ! and Ouvert !, about the building of La FabricA in 2013.

Since 2014, a young audience programme is offered every year at the Chapelle des Pénitents blancs, and the collaboration between the Festival and the Avignon city council allows 1,000 school students to attend free performances every November.
2015: The Girl, the Devil and the Mill, by Olivier Py
2016: Dark Circus, by STEROPTIK
2017: Micro-Folie
2018: Ahmed returns… for children, by Didier Galas
2019: Love Triumphant, by Olivier Py
2021 : The Pied Piper by Joachim Latarjet
Learn more

Throughout the year, the Festival also works with classes from the Aix-Marseille and Montpellier school districts. Students visit the Festival’s venues, attend theatre workshops, and write articles or draw for the Young Spectator’s Guide.

Les Escapades collégiennes

The colleges of Vaucluse, and more particularly of Avignon, are a priority target for the Festival in its actions with the public, for both geographical and educational reasons. College is also a very important period in the life of young teenagers.

The yearly Escapades collégiennes, created by the departmental council, allow five classes from five Avignon colleges to get their first experience of theatrical practice, to discover research, and to familiarise themselves with the Festival d’Avignon and its history thanks to visits of iconic locations, encounters with professionals of the performing arts, and class presentations.

The discovery of shows during the Festival is another essential aspect of this programme, and complements the actions undertaken during the year such as visits of the Cour d’honneur du Palais des Papes, or workshops introducing the students to theatre engineering jobs.

Those projects are part of the common core programme, and allow students to tackle the following subjects:

• language, to think and communicate: developing students’ sensitivity thanks to practical workshops (interdisciplinarity);

• learning methods and tools: encounters with professionals, visits of the BnF;

• learning as an individual and a citizen: class atmosphere, responsibilities, commitment;

• representations of the world and of human activity: text analysis, history of the Festival…

Colleges that have taken part in this programme: Joseph Viala, Vernet, Roumanille (Rep+), Anselme Mathieu (Rep+), Saint-Michel, La Salle, Mistral (Rep), Jean Brunet (Rep+) in Avignon, Anne Frank in Morières-les-Avignon and Lou Vignares in Vedène.

Twinning with the Collège Anselme Mathieu (REP+) - Festival d'Avignon

The Collège Anselme Mathieu, part of the REP+ network, offers two general and vocational education sections. In February 2014, a twinning agreement was signed in the presence of Vincent Peillon and Olivier Py,
a commitment revolving around three axes:

• artistic practice and practice as spectators,

• discovery of the jobs of the Festival,

• development of critical thinking thanks in part to an introduction to web reporting.

As part of this twinning agreement, many projects have helped create long-term relationships between the students and the Festival d’Avignon. Working on the Young Spectator’s Guide, visiting the Cour d’honneur, taking part in the “Et vous la République ? Parole aux jeunes” project, or creating video reports screened at the Cinéma Utopia are some of the ways students have been able to discover the world of the performing arts, to delve into current questions, and to explore the Festival behind the scenes.

In 2017, 2018, and 2019, students created several reports which can be found on the Festival’s web-tv, most notably during Didier Galas’s residency for Ahmed return, or Irène Bonnaud’s for Friendship, both of them touring shows whose premieres took place in the college itself during the opening of the 72nd and 73rd editions of the Festival d’Avignon. They were also given the opportunity to learn about the creation and printing of the Festival’s pre-programme, or to attend rehearsals for Abîmés at La FabricA thanks to ADAMI as part of the Écrits d'acteurs programme during the 73rd edition of the Festival.

For the 2018-2020 period the college, the Festival d’Avignon, the Aix-Marseille Education Authority, and the Fondation Casino partnered on a creative project, Ménandre, de toi à moi (Menander, from you to me), directed by Enzo Verdet.

For the past few years, the Festival d’Avignon has worked closely with secondary schools in the region throughout the school year and in July. Whether it be for long-term artistic and cultural education projects or for one-time events, the Festival has made its resources and its artistic know-how available for the education of youth. Beyond the schools of Avignon, the Festival’s field of action covers the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region and the neighbouring departments (Gard, Hérault, etc.). Many students also come to the Festival as part of a study trip to discover and learn more about its history, its organisation, and its jobs.

Many activities are available to students, who can visit some of the Festival’s venues, meet artists and staff, or attend rehearsals, workshops, and shows. They provide original ways for the students to learn about the performing arts. Those activities are designed together with teachers, and provide the students with the opportunity to discover a one-of-a-kind cultural event and to experience it differently.

It is very important for the Festival to try to reach as diverse an audience as possible, which is why we have been working not only with sixth form colleges, but also with vocational schools and, for the past few years, with an agricultural college.

Finally, beyond those year-round activities, partnered schools also take part in artistic education projects specifically designed by the Festival. Every year, students attend our Young Culture Reporters programme, take part in the Ceccano dramatic series as amateur actors, or get to discover the Festival thanks to the J’y suis j’en suis project.

Lycée agricole et viticole d'Orange

Since 2015, the Orange Château Mongin viticultural school and the Festival d’Avignon have created a yearly artistic and cultural education project, which includes an exploration of the jobs involved in artistic creation, the organisation of wine-tastings during events at La FabricA, artistic practice workshops, and reading sessions.

Every year, over 60 apprentices take part in this project. In the Spring of 2017, Olivier Py came to talk to the entire school about the programme of the 71st edition and about his work as director of the Festival.