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July 2022

Homo Faber NextGen - Homo Faber Fellowship - TRAINEE TESTIMONIAL 2022 

Cyprien Lesquier: setting sail around the world

Marseille-based trainee Cyprien Lesquier set his heart on marine carpentry after following a higher education in sciences and industrial sustainability development. He soon realised that he wanted to work with his hands and with the material of wood and so he embarked on completing apprenticeships in different marine carpentry workshops. He jumped at the opportunity to spend six months as a trainee to Denis Borg of Chantier Naval Borg, famed for their “barquettes” - Mediterranean wooden boats. The family business, established in 1956 and now in the hands of the third generation is the only workshop restoring and producing traditional historical wooden barquettes in Marseille and in the region. Their craft is listed in the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Here Cyprien reflects on his future plans.

 

How do you view the future of marine carpentry?

I see a bright future for the craft. One can do a lot with a little. It is possible to always be working. It’s essential to seek out clients and always try to adapt to ensure a viable future for the craft.

 

What are your future career plans?

My dream project is to sail around the world in a boat I’ve built myself. It will take years and years and I admit it’s quite a crazy idea, but it would be a great achievement on a handcrafted boat. I definitely wish to continue working in marine carpentry, continue to learn from my mentors and become known as an accomplished marine carpenter. Thanks to this scholarship,  I am pleased to have the chance to remain another six months under Denis Borg’s tutelage, which is a great honour.

 

Is craft a viable career for young people in France?

Yes, I believe it is, as long as quality always remains a priority. Craft is not just a road to nowhere but a path to excellence, it requires competence and dedication to pursue it to a high level. Accomplished craft skills are found in the hands and minds of craftspeople not on a piece of paper. It is only by receiving training and years of practice, that an aspiring craftsperson can become a master of their craft, which is why programmes that make this step possible are so essential.

 


Notes for editors

 

michelangelofoundation.org

@homofaber

 

The Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity and Craftsmanship is a non-profit institution based in Geneva, Switzerland, which champions contemporary craftspeople worldwide with the aim of promoting a more human, inclusive and sustainable future. The Foundation seeks to highlight the connections between craft, the wider arts and the design world. Its mission is to both celebrate and preserve craftsmanship and its diversity of makers, materials and techniques, by increasing craft’s everyday recognition and its viability as a professional path for the next generations. From engaging educational programmes such as the Summer Schools, to its signature digital project the Homo Faber Guide and the international exhibition Homo Faber Event, the Foundation is fostering a cultural movement centred on master artisans and rising stars. michelangelofoundation.org

 

Fondazione Cologni dei Mestieri d’Arte is a private, non-profit institution founded in 1995. Based in Milan, it promotes cultural, academic and educational initiatives for the protection and diffusion of Italian artistic crafts. The Fondazione Cologni’s mission is to inspire a “new Renaissance” of the artistic crafts and rescue them from the threat of extinction. Many of its initiatives focus on young people and training future generations of artisansfondazionecologni.it

 

Asociación Contemporanea de Artes y Oficios (ACAO) is an association that promotes both traditional and contemporary Spanish crafts. They seek to protect Spanish craftsmanship, and use it to foster the development of culture, history and art and boost its economic benefits on the environment and tourism industry. Their main targets are to ensure an environment in which Spanish craftspeople can thrive and to aid them in having further commercial reach in Spain and internationally. The ACAO collaborates with similar institutions to ideate best practices; they assist with the development of commercial platforms for craftspeople; they organise seminars, forums and talks. Beyond this, they use media for widespread visibility for arts and crafts; they launch programmes that promote crafts and engage in research projects. Their collective expertise enables them to provide consulting services to artisans and ateliers. forodeartesyoficios.com

 

The Craft Project is a French non-profit association born out of the podcast which goes by the same name, which has been promoting French craftspeople and craftsmanship since 2018. The association has several aims: firstly, to create a community of artisans who collectively think of innovative strategies to build the futures of their crafts. Secondly, to raise awareness of craftsmanship among the general public by introducing them to materials and to beauty. Lastly, to encourage vocations by shedding light on exemplary destinies and adventures in the arts and crafts. thecraftproject.fr

 

La Tecnocreativa is a fashion and design school based in Madrid that focuses on entrepreneurship, management and sustainable development. It seeks to preserve the traditional crafts linked to the creative industries and marry them with new technologies. The school revolutionises training with a model that combines online learning, thanks to televisual technology, with in-presence seminars for certain courses.  A month-long course tailored to the Trainee to Professional programme was created with partner Assocíacion Contemporánea Artes y oficios for the participating students. latecnocreativa.com

 

Costa Crociere Foundation was created with the aim of disseminating and developing the values of the Costa Group through the management and financing of environmental and social projects with a common interest. A commitment that manifests in supporting and developing projects to assist communities they encounter on the Costa ships’ journeys, and which focus on environmental protection and the eradication of social inequity at a global level investing. They invest 100% of the donations they receive into projects to transform the daily work they do into a promise of happiness. costacrocierefoundation.com

 

 

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