Résonance
Société POTOP: For an ephemeral community of smeller
2026
Oct 26 — Oct 30, 2026
Free admission
Venues and dates
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ESAAA, École supérieure d’art Annecy Alpes
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Fromto
Opening hours
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 9AM - 12:30PM Saturday, Sunday Closed -
Prices
Free admission
How do we build a community? What does it mean to be a smeller? How can we engage with everyday olfactory experiences? In the ESAAA entrance hall,, for one week, we will build, explore, reinvent, test, and imagine, through experimentation, the sensory conditions necessary to build a ephemeral community of smeller.
"Or the atmosphere ‘forms the invisible dome under which all our experiences unfold”
Bruce Bégout, The Concept of Atmosphere, 2020
Inspired by Robert Filiou and Joachim Pfeufer’s Poïpoïdrome, this POTOP Society project will be simultaneously a meeting space, a venue for artistic and theoretical interventions, a temporary exhibition, and a laboratory for olfactory experiments exploring the commons and collectives.
It will host an experiment by Géraldine Coppin, PhD in psychology from the University of Geneva; a philosophical collaboration with David Zerbib; a presentation on “olfactory alienation” with Jessica Mignot; a discussion group on concepts related to collective art practices, with the participation of visual artist, filmmaker-researcher, editor of the journal Afrikadaa, and curator Pascale Obolo; proposals from students; spontaneous actions; and distillations of vegetation (lichens, plants, herbs) gathered in the vicinity of the school and in the student resistance garden, created by artist-gardener Emmanuel Louisgrand and the school’s students….
It is through experimentation that forms and concepts, variations and contrasts, differences and similarities will be explored, thus revealing the workings of a « to do sensible common ».
Everyone is welcome at any time; this experiment will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day from October 26 to 30, 2026. Some time slots will be reserved for students, but you are also welcome to drop by spontaneously.
Audience
All ages, from 17 years old
Featuring
ESAAA, École supérieure d’art Annecy Alpes
During this talk, Pascale Obolo will outline the various commitments that shape her life as an artist, filmmaker-researcher, edithor of the journal Afrikadaa, and curator, focusing on the themes of collectives and the commons. Together, we will gradually shift our focus toward the sensory and olfactory dimensions evoked by the concept of the commons.
ESAAA, École supérieure d’art Annecy Alpes
Jessica Mignot, a philosopher by training and editor of Nez magazine, invites us to join a sensory revolution through her decolonial and activist reflections. During this event, we will share a collective experience of olfactory disalienation.
ESAAA, École supérieure d’art Annecy Alpes
How does our social identity influence our perception of the world? From an olfactory perspective, this remains a great mystery. Géraldine Coppin, a professor of psychology at UniDistance Suisse and an associate member of the Interfaculty Center for Affective Sciences, will be joining us to present a scientific experiment prepared specifically for this event.
ESAAA, École supérieure d’art Annecy Alpes
During this event, Karoline Straczek, an artist-researcher affiliated with the Annecy-Alpes School of Art, will discuss her research on the politics of smell through the artistic collective entity Société POTOP.