Studio Fontana

En Jeu (2024)


What

Developed in collaboration with the art center La Ferme du Buisson and schools in the suburbs of Paris, this alternative sports tournament invited teenagers to practice, choreograph, and play new models of society.


Over a year, students participated in a series of workshops co-facilitated by Gabriel Fontana, along with the organizations Queer Education and G.L.I.T.C.H., graphic designer Roxanne Maillet, and rapper Oxni. Together, they envisioned and developed new societal models—some utopian, others dystopian—and created fictional sports federations to represent them.

How

Throughout these workshops, students invented new sports and designed logos, flags, and slogans to represent their teams. The project culminated in a tournament held at the Ferme du Buisson, offering a chance to test and rehearse these new worlds—functioning almost like immersive theatre where everyone became actors, spectators, and players.

Why

En Jeu challenges social norms and mechanisms of oppression within the realm of sports, offering a critical examination of the values traditionally promoted by athletic competitions. The project aspires to foster empathy and inclusion by reimagining our relationship with sports and, by extension, our relationship with the broader world—ultimately proposing new ways of building community.


Participating schools: Charles-le-Chauve High School and Le Luzard and La Maillière Middle Schools in Seine-et-Marne, France.


  • Gabriel Fontana, En Jeu, 2024, La Ferme du Buisson – Noisiel © Gabriel Fontana
  • Gabriel Fontana, En Jeu, 2024, La Ferme du Buisson – Noisiel, © photo Émile Ouroumov
  • Gabriel Fontana, En Jeu, 2024, La Ferme du Buisson – Noisiel, France © photo Émile Ouroumov
  • Gabriel Fontana, En Jeu, 2024, La Ferme du Buisson – Noisiel, France © photo Émile Ouroumov