- Sophie Balkanski
Bio: A painter and set designer based in the Vexin region, her work lies at the
intersection of these two disciplines. It is rooted in a particular focus on the
materiality of painting: worked surfaces, visible layers, textures that are painted,
sewn, or assembled. Collage and textiles play a significant role,
giving rise to forms reminiscent of patchwork where painting and installation
converge.
- Contact (email / phone): 06 69 35 16 28 – sophie.balkanski@gmail.com
- Social media: @sophiebalkanski
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Véronique Hubert / UTOPIA
- Bio: A few lines Visual artist, VJ-DJ, teacher, organizer
of artistic events, VH has been bringing fictional characters to life since 1996,
such as the fairy UTOPIA, a burlesque and/or drama queen found in
performances, drawings, photographs, publications,
installations, and videos. Her approach juggles with the absurdity of
patriarchal and self-centered society, which she calls “our wretched
colonial human comedy.” Her mantra, borrowed from Kenzaburo Oe, is “AN ISOLATED PESSIMIST CAN DO NOTHING; PESSIMISTS OF ALL COUNTRIES, UNITE.”
She has been part of the Queer le Jerk Off Arts Festival since 2019, and of the F’Furious Collective
since 2024.
••
Contact (email / phone): veronique1.hubert@gmail.com 0663035321
- Social media: https://www.instagram.com/veronique_hubert/
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Hélène Cottet
- bio: Painter, musician, and actress based in Strasbourg. She trained
in decorative arts in Strasbourg and developed her figurative painting practice there. Her
canvases depict dreamy faces and expansive bodies suspended in
empty, neutral spaces. Improvisation plays an important role, both in her
painting and in her musical performances.
- Contact: 06 73 72 78 95 / helenecottet@hotmail.com
- social media: @LNcotcot
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Lise Barkas
- Bio: A musician based in Strasbourg, Lise Barkas plays the hurdy-gurdy and the
bagpipes. Her instrumental practice has developed through her back-and-forth
between dance floors and noise-oriented parties, drawing on the legacy of the revival
of traditional music and through encounters with other musicians.
- Contact: 07 82 86 32 10 / barkas.lise@gmail.com
- social media: @lise.barkas
Hope Mokded
BIO: Tunisian-African multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker based in Paris. Trained at
the Tunis School of Fine Arts, she is pursuing a research master’s degree in art at the University of
Strasbourg; member of the Curry Vavart collective; resident at Shakirail. Through a
transdisciplinary practice blending video, performance, painting, poetry, and
installation, she explores systemic violence, migration trajectories,
physical and symbolic borders, as well as psychological distress linked to
traumatic experiences. Based on the principle that the personal is political,
her work gives form to embodied narratives that question the mechanisms
of invisibilization, domination, and resilience.
Contact: 0751360877
hopemokdedart@gmail.com
Network @hopemokded
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JAJ
BIO: A non-binary artist from Martinique, Jaj draws inspiration from
the intersection of Caribbean cultures, queer energies, and spirituality. Among
their talents are music (“L’enfant ark-an-syel,” available on all
platforms), drag cabaret (formerly Madame Arthur), dance (Kluster), and
poetry (Château Perché).
Jaj is also a co-founder of Afroqueer Rising.
Contact: jajo.home@gmail.com 06 15 74 78 70
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jaj.hope
