HEADMADE FACTORY, CREATOR OF EXCELLENCE IN THE CARIBBEAN

Who are we ?

Created in October 2010, HMF or HeadMade Factory is a collective of artists that aim to be the center of gravity of the contemporary creation in Saint Martin. Through artistic experiences based on contemporary dance, visual arts but also unifying activities such as conferences, artistic residences, exhibitions, HeadMade Factory wants to be an operator in the society it lives in. The hard core is composed of a group of plastic artists and choreographers – Florence Poirier Nkpa, Peggy Oulerich, Cindy Choisy, Laurent Bayly – that aim to give their answer to a specific idea of the contemporary creation in the Caribbean. Together, they contemplate an art in a constant renewal state. Far from worrying about what should be done to stay in fashion, HMF builds Saint Martin’s contemporary artistic identity that will be the island’s history of tomorrow. They want to enhance the notion of work of art thanks to their expression of how clearly they can see the world around them. With each one of them having their own artistic approach, from the studying of the act of painting, to the quest of a personal harmony with their time, including the expression of concepts as much political as philosophical and social:

They develop an idea of the art that isn’t restricted any more to talking about an esthetic ideal and folklore.
If the reality of the island remains their first analytic marker, they wonder what “makes life more interesting than art” in the sense of how Robert Filliou would define contemporary art.
They give an answer to the question “What does creation mean on an island?”
They speak of the everyday life of the artist facing their means to exist in an artistic network often ruled by the economy and the art market.
They contemplate a form of art that settles in a world both contemporary and specific to their life in Saint Martin and in the Caribbean.

Aware of what’s happening in the international artistic world, one of their goals is to make their art go beyond the island’s borders. In a world both empty and full with products of local and handcrafted consumption, they are not willing any more to respond – in order to exist – to an artistic expectation subjected to the constraints of the tourist season. Each artist has their area of expertise (dance, installations, painting, video, photographs, performances and street art) but they all join forces to experience art differently: HeadMade Factory doesn’t produce objects waiting to be listed but a “connection to the world” as identified by Nicolas Bourriaud who said in 1999 that “it is just as absurd to write an article on painting as it is to write a text on video art, since there is no video art nor painting but artists who produce connections to the world by using different media and processes.” (“Les carnets du capital”, Contemporary Art Regional Center, 1999, Sète). To go even further, this collective has nothing to prove to the so-called “artistic” esthetic; it commits to live in the Caribbean contemporary art world.

Our skillz

For many years, HMF managed to develop its skills. HMF proposes original events – all in service of the awareness of contemporary art – that arouse curiosity by their difference on the island. HMF becomes the reference in Saint Martin for dance or visual arts. Thanks to a variety of skills, HMF proposes:

The writing of articles on contemporary art and dance (for local and regional media coverage first of all)
The creation of educational tools to spread the artistic culture in school.
The creation of a publication on Caribbean contemporary art in Saint Martin
The setting up of conferences, presentations and discussion on contemporary art and dance in Saint Martin.
The invitation of leading figures in the contemporary art and dance worlds
The organization and coordination of exhibition and choreographed performances (private or public)
The exportation of its events outside of Saint Martin
The conception and edition of brochures for exhibitions and events
Cultural engineering (administrative services for the artists)
The training of the Saint Martin youth to the professions linked to the art market and its industry
An online gallery where the works of contemporary artists of Saint Martin and other nearby islands are exhibited.

The HMF label

HMF is now a label that guarantees a professional service dedicated to art in Saint Martin via the organization of qualitative artistic and cultural events. Quoting Frantz Fanon, HMF thinks that “culture isn’t a stock of particularisms… it’s an underground life, dense and in constant renewal state.” HMF intends to offer a structure to reveal this artistic life that needs to be renewed constantly in Saint Martin, and intends to make it known worldwide.

President : Mr Onumah NKPA

VOLUNTEER MEMBERS:

Mrs Catherine BOQUET
Mrs Olivia ALLAMANNO
Mrs Ketty ABIDOSE

THE COLLECTIVE