To mark its 75th anniversary, the Council of Europe is offering a unique audio experience featuring 12 works of art that are emblematic of the organisation’s history, heritage and values. L’Atelier de l’Europe (Europe’s workshop), a 12-episode podcast in French, will be available from 1 May.
The podcast immerses listeners in the works of several well-known artists, transporting them through time and space. From the Palais de l’Europe, the Council of Europe’s headquarters designed by the architect, Henry Bernard, past the bust of Winston Churchill, a section of the Berlin Wall and some more contemporary works, L’Atelier de l’Europe sets out to explore the Council of Europe’s collection of works of art, which includes many treasures.
In a unique dialogue, the podcast combines the accounts of artists and historians with testimonies of diplomats and political leaders and all those who have shaped the history of the Council of Europe.
The podcast will be online from 1 May on the Council of Europe website (www.coe.int/podcasts) and on music streaming platforms.
The Council of Europe has joined up with Passagers du Son and the sound design collective, Micro-sillons, to create the podcast. The project was carried out in collaboration with Charlotte Roux, sound designer for Passagers du Son and director at Radio France, Antoine Auger, history teacher and audio documentary maker, and Anne Kropotkine, audio and radio documentary maker, author and history researcher, and in co-operation with the French National Audiovisual Institute (INA).
Since its foundation in 1949, the Council of Europe has received a number of works of art from its member countries. Over the years, as more countries joined, it has become a veritable museum of art, whose collection remains largely unknown to the general public. The organisation now owns some 150 works of art – paintings, tapestries and sculptures – which are located mainly throughout the Palais de l’Europe as well as in the European Court of Human Rights Building and the surrounding areas.
