To the Maison Relais ANEF Cantal, the break room has a new look. In collaboration with the residents and the facility's team, the students from Saint Gerald of Aurillac have created a mural designed to bring color, warmth, and connection to this shared living space.
This artistic and human project, titled «Together on the Walls,» brought together the sophomore students Vocational Baccalaureate in Applied Arts and Media - Visual Communication and the students of CAP Signage and Graphic Decorations around a concrete achievement, carried out in conjunction with a local partner.
An artistic project serving a living space
At Saint Géraud High School, Educational projects are based on concrete situations., in collaboration with local partners. It is in this spirit that the creation of this wall decoration was carried out, intended to brighten up the break room and collective living space of Maison Relais ANEF Cantal.
The ANEF Cantal Maison Relais hosts adults experiencing isolation or social vulnerability, offering them stable housing and an environment that promotes readjustment to daily life. Collective spaces are essential here, as they help foster connections, encourage exchanges, and promote engagement with local social life.
The fresco imagined by the students is fully in line with this approach. It does not only serve a decorative purpose: it contributes to make a shared space more welcoming, lively, and warm.
Graphic proposals for collective choice
First, the second-year Bac Pro AMA Visual Communication Multimedia students explored several graphic avenues based on the themes proposed by the residents of the Maison Relais. Inspired by the world of Pop Art, they imagined decorations, taking into account the characteristics of the place, its uses, and the identity of the structure.
The projects were then presented to a delegation of residents and supervisors from the facility. This exchange was an important step: the students explained their intentions and their graphic choices, while the future users of the spaces were able to share their impressions and contribute to the selection of the chosen proposal. This consultation phase was part of a Creative process conceived by the Bac Pro AMA CVPM teachers, resolutely collaborative and in line with the values carried by the project: living together, sharing, and participation from everyone. Thus, each proposed composition combined drawings from several students around themes brought by the residents, leading to common creations rather than individual achievements.
Following this shared reflection, Ilina's composition was chosen. It was particularly appealing for its ability to convey the spirit of togetherness, as well as for its lively, warm, and accessible character. True to the committed approach, this composition also brings together the creations of Ruben, Blanche, Martin, Lucas, and Pablo, whose drawings enrich the entire fresco. One can notably find flowers, a tree, a vehicle, characters at windows, and scenes from daily life, all elements that evoke presence, sharing, and community life.
The fresco is therefore not limited to wall decoration. The result of a participatory approach, it tells something about the place: an inhabited, welcoming, and open space, where everyone can gradually find their bearings, build relationships, and find their place. It also bears witness to a human experience of collective creation, lived by both students and residents.
From the model to the wall: students in real-life situations
Once the project was chosen, the CAP Signage and Graphic Design students took over to ensure the creation of the mural and transition from a mockup to a full-scale realization. They had to adapt the drawing to the wall, organize the different painting stages, work as a team, and take into account the real constraints of the material and space.
This type of project is particularly formative: it places students in a concrete situation, linked to a partner, an existing place, and users. It also allows them to measure the impact of their work in a daily environment, beyond the strict confines of the classroom. The project thus placed students in a situation close to a professional assignment.
A symbolic participation from residents
In the final phase of the fresco, some residents also participated sporadically in the painting. This participation gives the project its full meaning: the fresco was not only created for the Maison Relais, but was also shared with those who live there.
Around a simple and common gesture, students and residents together contributed to transforming a shared everyday space.
A colorful and warm mural to liven up a shared space
Today, the fresco adorns the break room of the Maison Relais ANEF Cantal. With its colors, shapes, and references to everyday life, it brings a New presence in this shared space.
For the students, this experience will have allowed them to go through all the steps of a creative process Graphic research, presentation to the client, collective decision-making, project adaptation, technical implementation, and on-site finalization.
For the Maison Relais, this fresco leaves a lasting trace of a Local, human, and artistic collaboration. This project fully illustrates Saint Géraud Aurillac's commitment to offering learning experiences that are rooted in reality, open to the local area, and meaningful.
Thanks to the teachers who supervised the project, to ANEF Cantal for their collaboration, enthusiasm, and kindness, to the residents for their welcome, and to the students for their commitment. A beautiful local, human, and artistic collaboration, now inscribed on the walls of the ANEF Cantal Maison Relais.
