FE News | ESCP Business School & Galeries Lafayette group joins forces to support art and entrepreneurship through ‘Improbable’ chair

Providing access to creation by bridging the worlds of art and entrepreneurship is the position of these two institutions with a deep entrepreneurial DNA.

On Tuesday, March 19, Léon Laulusa, Dean and Executive Chairman of ESCP, Jean-Stéphane Arcis, President of the ESCP Foundation, Philippe Houzé, Executive Chairman of the Galeries Lafayette group, and Guillaume Houzé, VP Image and Communications of the Galeries Lafayette group , signed the first chair dedicated to artistic and entrepreneurial creation.

The Improbable Chair, named after an innovative pedagogical approach called ‘Art Thinking’, originated in France within the walls of ESCP, the prestigious European business school. This methodology borrows from the practices of contemporary art to stimulate the act of creation, with the aim of creating the improbable with certainty. An avant-garde pedagogy that has already trained thousands of students, entrepreneurs, executives and workers around the world, putting art and culture at the center of all creation. This daring approach is widely supported and shared by the Galeries Lafayette group.

The Improbable Chair is the first structure to strengthen the ties between art and entrepreneurship by acting as an ambassador for the creative process. It supports creation by building bridges between artists and entrepreneurs, between companies and cultural institutions, and between artistic creation and business strategy.

“The Improbable Chair is all about bringing artists and entrepreneurs together, connecting art with business in a new way. It supports creative practices by connecting artists with entrepreneurs, companies with cultural institutions and artistic creation with business strategy. It encourages everyone to embrace the ‘improbable’ and think like creators. Through a unique method called ‘Art Thinking’, developed at ESCP, the Galeries Lafayette group and ESCP offer a way to support, encourage and spread the act of creation.

Guillaume Houze, VP Image and Communications of the Galeries Lafayette group.

The ‘Art Thinking’ methodology, taught at ESCP for the past 15 years, aims to provide insight into creation and place it at the heart of any career or path. It is taught during Improbable seminars: three-day training sessions that immerse participants in the role of contemporary artists to question and express a message through creation.

This approach, recognized and shared by big names in contemporary art such as the Center Pompidou and certain Parisian galleries, encourages participants to create together and understand their daily challenges or business strategy through the prism of contemporary art.

“The establishment of this chair marks a historic moment for our institution. It reflects our continued commitment to innovation, creativity and interdisciplinary dialogue.”

Leon Laulusadean and executive president of ESCP Business School.

Supporting scientific research to better understand the practices of creation and spreading the Improbable pedagogy around the world to teach the Art Thinking method are the main objectives of the chair. This will be achieved through research and development (scientific publications, theses and dissertations, seminars bringing together researchers, artists and creative experts), education and events (conferences and workshops, exhibitions and openings, unlikely residencies).

“Our initial belief was simple: make creation accessible to as many people as possible. To achieve this, we have developed a method called Art Thinking, which characterizes how artists, entrepreneurs and scientists go through similar steps in the creative process, such as gift giving, deviation, destruction and drift. For 15 years, our Art-Thinking seminars have trained thousands of students, entrepreneurs, managers and researchers in a dozen countries and twenty universities and schools. In collaboration with the Galeries Lafayette group, a company with a strong entrepreneurial DNA, our chair combines theory and practice to strengthen this approach and promote makers and creation in the broadest sense of the word.

Sylvain BureauESCP professor, scientific director of the Improbable Chair, founder of the Art Thinking methodology.