Events

This event will be held in English and French.

Co-organized by the Columbia Global Paris Center and the Institute for Ideas and Imagination.

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Delve into the depths of boredom at the Nuit de l'Imagination on May 13th. After the success of last year's inaugural event themed around climate, we invite you to embrace the mundane and celebrate the beauty of boredom with the Columbia Global Paris Center and the Institute for Ideas and Imagination.

Experience an array of workshops designed to inspire kids and teens, encouraging them to reconnect with the concept of boredom as a catalyst for creativity. These will include a yoga class for kids ages 5 and up with Ulrika Dezé, founder of Yogamini; a fairy tale writing workshop with Charlotte Force; a needlework or "tapisserie au point" workshop with Tapisseries de la Bûcherie; and ateliers with the REcyclerie on how to make your own "tawashi" scrubbing sponges and planting microgreens.

As the evening transitions into night, join us for a mesmerizing soundscape by Ursula Kwong-Brown and Daniel Erdberg: Driftscape explores the meditative qualities of sound and its connection to boredom. Discover how embracing moments of quietude can lead to profound insights and unleash boundless creativity. 

Driftscape is an immersive musical performance that attempts to create a space, both personal and collective, where listeners can rest their attention for sixty minutes, be present, and allow their minds to gently wander. Inspired by the creators’ ongoing time making art in California at The Sea Ranch, a remote coastal community founded in the 1960’s with utopian aspirations, the sixty-minute electro-acoustic journey fuses lush harmonies, organic soundscapes, binaural field recordings, and experimental processing to create a highly textured, subtly-evolving aural world.  The piece invites exploration of the limitless potential found in the meditative liminality between focus and distraction.

Attendees will be given a pair of wireless, over-the-ear headphones to experience the work. They have an individual volume control and are compatible with most in-ear hearing assistance devices. If you are unable to wear standard headphones, please contact us to discuss accommodation: [email protected].

This headline event will be followed by a reception for all attendees, featuring sensory food experiences curated by Bonne Femme.

Bring back boredom.

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PROGRAM

Workshops for kids and teens
16h–19h
All workshops are bilingual English/French.

17–17h45

• Yoga/meditation for kids (5+)

16h30–18h30

• Microgreens and tawashi workshops with the ReCyclerie (5+)
• Fairy tale writing workshop (10+)
• Needlepoint or “tapisserie au point” workshop (10+)

Driftscape: An immersive musical performance for all
19h

• Soundbath experience presented by Ursula Kwong-Brown and Daniel Erdberg (1h30)

Reception to follow from 20h30.

The event will conclude at 22h.

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Participants

Driftscape

Daniel Erdberg is a New York and Los Angeles based sound artist, director, writer and composer chiefly interested in the intersection of technology and presentational aesthetics. His work has been seen (and heard!) in New York on Broadway and at theaters and concert halls around the world. Recent projects have included playback design for large-scale stadium events, sound art installations, developing a new opera about Carl Sagan and the Golden Record, recording and editing for NPR and PBS, mixing sound for artists as diverse as Lizzo and Loudon Wainwright, and contributing to the emerging standard for spatialized audio in Virtual Reality.

Ursula Kwong-Brown is an LA-based pianist/composer/arts technologist. Described as “atmospheric and accomplished” by The New York Times, her work has been performed in the United States, Europe, and Asia in diverse venues including Carnegie Hall, le Poisson Rouge, Miller Theatre, the Manhattan Movement & Arts Center, the National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Sound designs include The Wizard of Oz at A.C.T., Holiday at Arena Stage, Sunday in the Park with George at Pasadena Playhouse, and the world premiere of Stonewall with NYC Opera. Ursula received her PhD in Music and New Media from UC Berkeley, and her BA in Music and Biology from Columbia University.

Yoga & mindfulness workshop

Ulrika Dezé, based in Paris, is the Franco Swedish founder of Yogamini, an educational program aimed at children, families and professionals. The Yogamini program has been taught for over ten years in several Parisian schools, in hospital settings (Necker Hospital) and also in museums (yog'art workshops). Ulrika Dezé is also training teachers and health care professionals in France and Switzerland. She has a PhD. in Education at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences (FPSE) at Geneva University. Her research is focused on the impact of yoga and mindfulness-based programs on social and emotional learning and attention in school context.

Fairy tale writing workshop

Charlotte Force is a Franco-American writer and the Communications Coordinator for the Columbia Global Paris Center. She is deeply engaged in promoting its public events and the Atelier podcast, as well as supporting the Paris Center’s work with associations, artists, and researchers. As a freelance writer and researcher, Charlotte works in both academic and literary modes, notably the Fortune Teller writing prompt project. Born and raised in New York, she holds a degree in history from Columbia University, and has lived in Paris since 2021. Learn more about her work.

Needlepoint workshop

Tapisseries de la Bûcherie is a company specialized in custom-made needlepoint tapestries for self-embroidery. Our range of designs includes all French styles for seats, benches, panels, playmats, cushions, tiebacks, bags, etc., as well as more contemporary creations. We can also faithfully reproduce the designs of your choice.

Tawashi + Microgreens workshops

The REcyclerie is an innovative project that combines several activities: a café-canteen in the 18th arrondissement, as well as an urban farm and a collaborative repair workshop, a resource center, and a learning center. Since 2014, La REcyclerie has aimed to raise public awareness of eco-responsible values in a playful and positive way.

Caterer

Founded in 2017 by Chef Abigail Munier (who honed her skills under Thomas Brachet and Laetitia Visse) and Tommy Kibranian, president and production manager, Bonne Femme boldly enters the realm of traditional Parisian caterers. Supported by a team of passionate and daring women, it offers seasonal, demanding, responsible, and ethical cuisine.

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Organizers

The Columbia Global Paris Center addresses pressing global issues that are at the forefront of international education and research: agency and gender; climate and the environment; critical dialogues for just societies; encounters in the arts; and health and medical science.

Each year the Institute for Ideas and Imagination brings together a cohort of 14-15 Fellows, half of them Columbia faculty and post-docs, the other half artists and writers from around the world, to spend a year together in work and conversation. The Institute fosters intellectual and creative diversity unconstrained by medium and discipline through the interaction of the arts and academia.

Columbia Global brings together major global initiatives from across the university to advance knowledge and foster global engagement. Those initiatives include the Columbia Global Centers, Columbia World Projects, the Committee on Global Thought, and the Institute for Ideas and Imagination. Our mission is to address complex global challenges through groundbreaking scholarly pursuits, leadership development, cutting-edge research, and projects that aim for social impact. Our long-term goal is to reimagine the university’s role in society as not only a nexus for learning and intellectual exploration but also as a catalyst for creativity and impact locally, regionally, and globally.

Venue

Nestled in the Montparnasse district, Reid Hall hosts several Columbia University initiatives: Columbia Global Center Paris, the Institute for Ideas and Imagination, Columbia Undergraduate Programs, M.A. in History and Literature, and the GSAPP Shape of Two Cities Program. This unique combination of resources is enhanced by our global network whose mission is to expand the University's engagement the world over through educational programs, research initiatives, regional partnerships, and public events.

Part of this event will take place in Reid Hall’s Grande Salle Ginsberg-LeClerc, built in 1912 and extensively renovated in 2023 thanks to the generous support of Judith Ginsberg and Paul LeClerc.

The views and opinions expressed by speakers and guests do not necessarily reflect the official policies or positions of the Columbia Global Paris Center or its affiliates.