Our establishment vibrated to the rhythm of the first edition of WAH-WAH festival, an event imagined and organized by Leo Grand and Isaac Chaurand, students in DN Design Graphics, accompanied by their teacher Pauline.
I thought of it as a meeting time between music, image, graphic design, exhibition, and experimentation, Throughout the day, students, teachers, musicians, exhibitors, and visitors were able to share a moment that was both creative, lively, and collective.
A rich program of music, visuals, and creation
The WAH-WAH festival was built around a simple idea: to create a dialogue between sounds, images, and artistic practices. The program for this first edition includes: concerts, screenings, exhibitions, stalls, creative workshops, and moments of sharing.
Several groups and artists performed throughout the day, including Spelless Faith, Pink Lady, David Bleu, and ODWAD.
Video projections and retrospectives also highlighted films and creations made in Saint Géraud, particularly by Vocational programs at the high school. These broadcast times have recalled the richness of the productions carried out within the institution for several years.
Exhibitions to highlight the creation in Saint Géraud
The exhibitions presented during the festival highlighted the diversity of productions created within the institution. Featuring student work, trainee creations, and faculty artistic practices, they offered an interdisciplinary look at the forms of expression that animate Saint-Géraud: drawing, publishing, photography, painting, sculpture, screen printing, graphic design, and printed objects.
Students featured in a group exhibition
An exhibition dedicated to students was presented during the festival. It highlighted a wide variety of productions: drawings, photographs, fanzines, publications, paintings and many other forms of expression.
Between personal universes, graphic experiments, and sensitive views of the world, each project revealed a unique way of creating. This group exhibition highlighted the diversity, spontaneity, and creativity of the students at Saint-Géraud High School.
An exhibition of professors on multiple practices
The professors also presented their work through a rich and varied exhibition. All mediums were showcased: volumes, books, paintings, magazines, photographs, riso prints, vinyl sleeves and other graphic or plastic productions.
This exhibition showcased the richness of artistic practices fostered by the teaching staff and allowed for a dialogue between the approaches of the teachers and those of the pupils and students.
Workshops to experiment, create, and share
The festival offered many workshops open to participants: screen printing, cyanotype, creative drawing, exquisite corpse, speed drawing, creation of fanzines or even the creation of’Atabex.
Screen printing workshops on tote bags and t-shirts allowed everyone to embrace the spirit of the festival by taking home a personalized creation. These proposals placed great importance on gesture, experimentation, and the joy of creating together.
Among the highlights of the day, the collaborative fresco transformed a wall of the high school into a vast space for expression open to everyone. Each participant was able to leave their mark by drawing, writing, or adding touches of color. Throughout the day, ideas, styles, and gestures mingled to create a shared artwork, vibrant and full of energy.
This fresco fully reflects the spirit of the festival: a moment of sharing, creativity, and freedom, where everyone can contribute to a collective creation.
A very positive first edition
For this first edition, the results are very positive. The WAH-WAH festival has shown students' ability to conceive, organize, and bring a complete event to life, blending artistic programming, visual creation, outreach, practical organization, and collective mobilization.
The students of DN Design Graphics have fully invested themselves in the design of the festival: creation of the visual identity, reflection on the scenography, production of editorial materials, coordination of social media communication, and content enhancement. All of these tasks are directly linked to the skills developed during their training.
This first edition clearly makes us want to make the festival a lasting event and an important fixture in the creative life of the high school.
A huge thank you to Leo Grand and Isaac Chaurand, at the initiative of the project, to their professor Pauline, to the organizing students, to the teachers, to the pupils, to the musicians, to the exhibitors, to the speakers, and to all those who contributed to the success of this day.