Concept artist & cultural project manager

Joëlle Fifi

My story

I come from a working-class background with no artistic education. At 17, the Centre Pompidou in Paris – free for minors – opened a door I never knew existed. Contemporary art, philosophy, comics, pop icons, fire breathers, political speeches... everything coexisted within and outside the building. That shaped my holistic vision of art and my belief in cross-disciplinary encounters.

My path

My professional path led me away from an artistic career, but I remained curious about diverse practices: music, theatre, painting, drawing. A professional setback led me to create Arts au Pluriailes in 2016, organising and animating workshops. A failed papermaking attempt in 2017 made me truly curious: How to create beautiful handmade paper? That question became a quest.

What I am today

As a concept artist, my medium is the cultural project itself – linking artists, communities, techniques, and territories.

As a project manager, I coordinate teams, budgets, and partnerships.

Today, I am developing The Paper Odyssey: a journey into handmade papermaking with the purpose of using local Guadeloupean plants, blending intangible cultural heritage, eco-friendly practices, and social inclusion.

"My hunger to learn, to create, to find my own path through paper pulp and its infinite possibilities is not only a personal quest. It is also a collective adventure, carried by the whole team of Arts au Pluriailes."

Contact

Email: joelle@paper-odyssey.eu

Instagram: @paper.odyssey.lab – https://www.instagram.com/paper.odyssey.lab

LinkedIn: Joelle FIFI – my professional network, in French

The Paper Odyssey is an idea that carries itself forward. I am simply following it.