Rennes Street Art workshop & Marché des Lices

The Rennes session 1 students and PLs were able to experience some true Breton culture this past Friday and Saturday.  We were even lucky enough to have beautifully clear skies and upper 70-degree temperatures over the weekend!  

On Friday, after the students finished class presentations over art, film, and culture we all headed to a neighborhood near the train station where there are many walls decorated in street art and graffiti. 

Students and PLs met up with Tom and his friend from Roazhon Colors, an association and artist collective based in Rennes that promotes street art and graffiti here in Rennes.  The two of them showed us around the area and explained the different techniques and terms used in French street art and graffiti culture. 

Following our tour, our students were lucky enough to get to make their own street art mural!  The men from Roazhon Colors were kind enough to prep a wall for just our students to tag earlier that day, so they all got geared up with masks and gloves and sprayed away at their "Rennesagades" mural.  Rennesagades is the hashtag that was made last year by the program leaders.  It's a play on the word Renegade, and it now serves as our tag and will (hopefully) remain as our mark on the city we love so much!

After our long afternoon Friday spent in the sun, we returned to centre-ville Saturday morning for a beautiful morning spent at the Marché des Lices. 

Marché des Lices is a local vendor's and farmer's market that takes place at the "Place des Lices" every Saturday morning.  It is a very typical and well-visited French market, and it even has roots all the way back to the 1600s.  

In the market student's had an "Oz le Français" (Community Conversation) activity to complete.  During the activity, students had to approach local vendors and visitors to ask questions about typical French dishes, recipes, and ingredients.  

Many students returned after our Community Conversation to visit the market and explore the different vendors.  At the market, you can find virtually anything you would get at a typical American grocery store and more.  There are flowers, fresh seafood, locally grown produce, cheeses, meats, and a large variety of artisanal products. 

The French markets are always one of my favorite things to visit while in this country, and I'm so glad our students had this Saturday free to have that experience!