Musiques de l’ébène (MDLE) is a French non-profit cultural organisation founded in 1995, dedicated to artistic creation, intercultural dialogue, cultural education and participatory practices.
MDLE develops interdisciplinary approaches combining music, rhythm, storytelling, theatre, sensitive listening, sensory exploration and collective artistic creation. Its activities also encompass attentive walking practices, observation of everyday environments, local narratives, ordinary objects and landscapes.
The organisation has extensive experience in designing and implementing artistic and educational projects involving schools, cultural institutions, local communities and diverse audiences. It has coordinated European Erasmus+ cooperation projects and participates in international networks supporting interdisciplinary and intercultural collaboration.
MDLE also benefits from the pro bono contribution of expertise in European research and innovation projects, including experience in Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe. This support brings valuable competencies in research proposal development, international consortium coordination, project management, partnership building and European funding procedures.
Based in rural Burgundy, MDLE operates La Grange au fil de l’Aube, a space dedicated to artistic creation, experimentation and cultural encounters.
MDLE is particularly interested in exploring how artistic and sensory practices can transform the ways individuals and communities perceive, interpret and relate to their environments.
For the Horizon Europe call on transformative change for biodiversity, MDLE proposes to develop and test arts-based attentional practices, combining ecological listening, attentive walks, observation of ordinary biodiversity, local knowledge, storytelling and collective artistic interpretation.
Working with researchers in ecology, environmental psychology, behavioural sciences and other social sciences, MDLE aims to co-design and evaluate participatory interventions, investigating how changes in attention, perception and cultural values may influence behaviours and collective decision-making.
A first territorial living lab could be established in the rural Aube valley in France, with the possibility of adapting and testing the methodology in other European contexts.
MDLE is seeking to join a multidisciplinary Horizon Europe consortium, contributing to participatory research, artistic experimentation, territorial living labs and the development of transferable methodologies supporting transformative change for biodiversity.