DERIVE PAR NATURE
Exhibition:
Dérive par Nature
Capsule Vortex × Aix Biennale
At a glance
📅 18–24 September 2026
Opening reception: Friday, 18 September, 6:00–7:45 pm
Venue: ESAAIX
57, rue Émile Tavan
Free admission: Saturday, 19 September to Thursday, 24 September, 10:00 am–6:00 pm
Closed on Sundays.
Artists: Louise Plasterie, Cleri Demaria Fanelli, Théo Giachetti, Valentin Aubert, Lilou Tasman, Hélène Berlemont, Eugénie Boetzlé, Peter Haddad, Alexandre Malvault
Format: Exhibition, performances, lecture
Curator: Séverine Gérard-Marchant
With the support of: Aix Biennale, ESAAIX, Beaux-Arts de Marseille, ESAA Avignon, L’Improbable Chair (Paris)
Nine young artists present works emerging from practices of dérive — individually or collectively — moving between city and countryside, pavement and natural terrain.
The concept of dérive, theorised by Guy Debord and the Situationist International in the 1950s, describes a way of moving through a place without a predetermined route or destination, allowing oneself to be guided by the terrain rather than by a plan. As if dérive, more than a method tied to a particular place, were by nature an individual way of finding access to the world — a way, wherever one may be, of searching for and finding one's own path.
Presented by Capsule Vortex, a travelling initiative dedicated to emerging artists from art schools across France and Europe, the exhibition brings together painting, sculpture, poetry, performance, installation and video.
At each stage, Capsule Vortex settles into a different location and presents works born from a process of introspection, where creating becomes a way of better understanding oneself as much as understanding the world. The works presented here follow no predetermined plan: they emerge from the process itself — the dérive, encounters, and the living world.
Full programme
Friday, 18 September, 6:00–7:45 pm: Opening reception, featuring Louise Plasterie’s performance La Soupe V3.
Saturday, 19 September, 4:00–5:00 pm: Lecture by Nil Samar in the school’s amphitheatre, with the support of L’Improbable Chair in Paris.
Further performances will take place throughout the week. To stay informed, follow @capsule.vortex on Instagram.
VERNISSAGE Improbable education
Improbable EDUCATION is a two-day executive seminar designed by ESCP Business School’s Improbable Chair by Galeries Lafayette to meet this challenge. Using Art Thinking, an evidence-based methodology developed by Professor Sylvain Bureau, participants learn to navigate uncertainty, unlock strategic imagination, and generate bold, cross-disciplinary solutions.
Vernissage Improbable SUMMER SCHOOL
“Science is what we understand well enough to explain to a computer. Art is everything else.”
Donald Knuth (mathematician)
As Artificial Intelligence becomes an increasingly powerful force of transformation, it is more crucial than ever to pair it with other equally vital forms of intelligence: Artistic Intelligences.
Come explore original works created by participants of the Pau University Summer Camp. Each piece offers a unique perspective on AI and its impact on our world.
These creations emerged from the Improbable Seminar, a three-day immersion into Art Thinking — a method designed to create the improbable with certainty.
We look forward to welcoming you for an experience as unexpected as it is inspiring.
VERNISSAGE Improbable FASHION
Prof. Sylvain Bureau and Prof. Colette Depeyre warmly invite you to join us for the vernissage on June 5 at 6:00 PM: an experience at the intersection of art, fashion, and critical reflection, where the improbable becomes wearable.
Discover original artistic creations imagined and produced by 30+ participants from the ENSAD, Mines, Dauphine (PSL), ESCP as well as executives from the fashion industry. Each piece is a provocative exploration of AI, identity, transformation, and the becoming of human expression in fashion.
These works emerged from the Improbable Seminar, a two-day immersion into Art Thinking: a method designed to create the improbable with certainty. Organized by ENAMOMA & ESCP Business School’s Improbable Chair by Galeries Lafayette, participants were invited not to optimize the future, but to design it here and now.
Vernissage Improbable EXETER UNIVERSITY
Improbable Seminar : Master, Dauphine / ENSAD / Mines, Paris
VERNISSAGE Improbable FOOD
Improbable Food is a two-day executive seminar designed by ESCP Business School’s Improbable Chair by Galeries Lafayette to meet this challenge. Using Art Thinking, an evidence-based methodology developed by Professor Sylvain Bureau, participants learn to navigate uncertainty, unlock strategic imagination, and generate bold, cross-disciplinary solutions.
Launch of the Improbable Research Group
The Improbable Research Group is pleased to invite you to its official launch on April 8, from 2:00 PM to 4:30 PM at Lafayette Anticipations (with the possibility to attend online).
This inaugural gathering marks the beginning of a collective research dynamic grounded in Art Thinking — where creation becomes a method of inquiry and science becomes a force for creation.
We are delighted to host this first event in one of the most inspiring spaces for contemporary creation: Lafayette Anticipations.
Vernissage Improbable MBA
Improbable Seminar : Studnents of the MBA, ESCP Business School, Paris
Vernissage Improbable Executive MBA
Improbable Seminar : Studnents of the Executive MBA, ESCP Business School, Paris
IMPROBABLE INTELLIGENCE
After exploring the Improbable Intelligence vernissage — featuring artworks born from the Improbable Seminar — visitors are invited to continue the journey with a panel discussion: What happens when we let artistic intelligence — not algorithms — redefine the purpose of AI?
This one-hour panel gathers artists, scientists, and entrepreneurs to explore how artistic intelligence can transform our understanding and use of artificial intelligence. Moving beyond the logic of optimization and control, our speakers will discuss how artistic intelligence can open new directions for AI, directions that lead toward emancipation, meaning, and richer human perspectives, rather than pure efficiency.
Vernissage Improbable Growth
Improbable Seminar : MsIE Students, ESCP Business School, Paris
Vernissage Improbable ETI
Improbable Seminar : Executive TrainingETI, ESCP Business School, Paris
Vernissage Improbable Leadership AF KLM (#5)
Improbable Seminar : Executive Training Air France KLM, ESCP Business School, Paris
Vernissage Improbable IAE Aix
Improbable Seminar : Master of Science Students, IAE, Aix en Provence
Vernissage Improbable ARKEA
Improbable Seminar : Executives Training ARKEA, ESCP Business School, Brest
Vernissage Improbable Talents (EDf, season 8)
Improbable Seminar : Executive Talents EDF, Paris
Vernissage Improbable digital
Improbable Seminar : Students, ESCP Business School, London
Vernissage Improbable phd
Improbable Seminar : Executive PhD Students, ESCP Business School, Paris
Vernissage Improbable phd
Improbable Seminar : PhD Students, ESCP Business School, Paris
Vernissage Improbable Public Management
Improbable Seminar : IMPGT AIX-MARSEILLE, Marseille
Vernissage Improbable Leadership
Improbable Seminar : Executive MBA, SKEMA Business School, Paris