Dix ans déjà

Dix ans déjà !* This is how our audiences address us. A decade may be a short time, but it has already given rise to so many memories, achievements, encounters and anecdotes to recall, show and share.

For Le Signe, this represents hundreds of invited graphic designers and artists, dozens of exhibitions, thousands of hours of workshops and guided tours, five international Biennales and as many Poster Competitions, as well as hundreds of thousands of visitors, spectators and participants welcomed over the years.

Against this backdrop, one question has occupied us collectively over the past few months: how can we sum up ten years of creation, knowledge-sharing and exchange?

To tell this story, we want to show you something you are not used to seeing: projects led by graphic designers in collaboration with socio-cultural partners in Chaumont and the Haute-Marne region: schools, employment and social integration organisations, healthcare facilities, associations, institutions, detention centres… Projects that, although local and limited in scope, deserve particular attention, which this exhibition brings to light.

We have chosen to highlight the richness of the partnerships forged by Le Signe through a selection of projects that reflect the diversity of collaborations developed over these ten years, involving hundreds of participants.

The exhibition “Dix ans déjà” explores a wide range of contexts in which graphic design becomes a tool for active encounter and participation, directly involving those who experience it both as audiences and as participants.

Beyond the works produced, these projects tell another story about ways of creating and sharing knowledge. They reveal the forms that emerge from these collective experiences, as well as the connections forged through workshops, exchanges and creative sessions. They embody a conviction that has guided Le Signe since its beginnings: graphic design is a living practice, accessible to everyone, capable of creating a sense of community and bringing different worlds into dialogue.

“Dix ans déjà” thus looks back on a decade of experimentation and encounters, while bearing witness to the vitality of a young cultural institution that has become a leading centre for graphic design in France. The exhibition highlights Le Signe’s commitment to renewing approaches to mediation, going beyond the transmission of knowledge alone to invite audiences to take part in the creative process.

Through these projects, Le Signe asserts its pioneering role in the field of graphic design mediation: graphic design that is examined and explored, but above all practised, shared and created with others.

Alongside the work produced in the workshops, each participating artist, studio or collective invited to take part presents a piece of their choice, complementing the exhibition with a more personal perspective on their practice and artistic world.

*“Ten years already!”