A day of sharing, listening and creating with clay
In Fort-de-France, in a studious and benevolent atmosphere, some fifteen young people aged 18 to 25 enjoyed a rare experience: spending a day at the side of Victor Anicet an important figure in Martinican art, a renowned ceramist and visual artist, and a living memory of our heritage.
Under the leadership of Richès Karayib in partnership with the DAC Martinique and Énergies Nouvelles Antilles-Guyane (ENAG), this first edition of Mémoire Vivante – L’art de se transmettre brought generations together around the same gesture: shaping the earth to reconnect with our roots.
E.N.A.G. – Énergies Nouvelles Antilles-Guyane, an association registered in 2017, supports young people in Guadeloupe, French Guiana and Martinique. Its mission covers training, professional integration, education and cultural development. Based at ZI Californie – 97232 Le Lamentin (Martinique), the association runs concrete projects (e.g. “Park Numérique” digital workshops in French Guiana; support for nautical equipment in Guadeloupe). Partner companies, including SARA, support its actions.
A master of the art of transmission
For Victor Anicet, the most important thing is the human relationship. On this particular day, Victor Anicet wasn’t just talking about a pottery workshop, but a life lesson.
“I’m interested in passing on what I’ve learned,” Victor Anicet explains calmly. “I like talking to young people, telling them about my approach and telling them that, if they have a dream, they have to see it through, whatever the difficulties.
In his simple yet profound words, Victor Anicet shared his own journey: his fatherless childhood, his studies carried out with little means but a lot of willpower, and above all, consistency as the driving force behind success.
“If you want help, you have to ask for it with respect. And show results, be consistent.” – Victor Anicet
Around him, silence settled in. Not the silence of boredom, but the silence of sincere listening. intergenerational encounter where the spoken word becomes material, as malleable as the clay in their hands.
Clay, the mirror of life
Underneath his precise gestures, the artist from Martinique introduces young people to a philosophy of gesture:
“Clay is a silent material. It doesn’t make noise. It demands to be listened to. If you don’t respect it, it cracks.”
Water to shape it, air to dry it, fire to transform it: the three natural elements become metaphors for the human journey.
We’re like clay,” he says. We’re kneaded, we’re shaped, then comes the fire of life that makes us solid.”
Victor Anicet’s teaching resonates far beyond technique: he talks about respect, patience and perseverance. The workshop then becomes a space of introspection, where the touch of clay reconnects each person to a deep memory.
Curiosity and discovery for young people
Young people from different support structures – Milcem, Milnord and Les Cycas – responded to the call with curiosity and enthusiasm.
For many, it was a first encounter with crafts, with clay, with art itself.
Anouk ANASTHASE, a recent graduate in graphic design, confides:
“I wasn’t sure what to expect. In the end, I met someone I already knew by name: Victor Anicet. That meeting had a profound effect on me. It helped me gain confidence, learn to express myself and realize how precious the exchange between generations is.”
For Yaïto DONATIEN, the experience took a symbolic turn:
“Life is like pottery. When you heat it up too much, it cracks. You have to know how to keep it malleable to find its true form.”
A simple but powerful thought that sums up the philosophy of the day.
Clara Doubel-Defrel, 20, sees it as an encouragement to go further:
“I wanted to see if I had a talent, if I could evolve. What I’ve learned is that you always have to work hard to get results.”
Paige Démolion came out of curiosity and left with a new flame:
“The practical part really appealed to me. I’d never done pottery before, but I wanted to try it. In the end, I discovered something that spoke to me.”
Finally, Alissia CARAMAN stresses the importance of this link with history:
“It’s rewarding to meet artists from the past. It allows us to understand their path, their sacrifices, and to see that their art continues to exist. We don’t put enough emphasis on those who came before us.”
A project rooted in young people's reality
The event would not have been possible without the hosting and mobilizing organizations – Milcem, Milnord and Les Cycas – who provide daily support to young people undergoing integration. Thanks to their commitment, some fifteen participants were able to experience this extraordinary day.
Supervised, transported and welcomed, they have found here a different space for expression, far from school or administrative codes but profoundly educational.
This collaboration between social structures, cultural institutions and local players illustrates the strength of the collective. strength of the collective: transmission is built together.
Richès Karayib, catalyst of memory and pride
Behind the initiative, Richès Karayib a Caribbean media dedicated to culture, heritage and sustainable development, is pursuing its mission: to showcase the talents and knowledge of the Caribbean.
With Mémoire Vivante, Richès Karayib’s team doesn’t just document: it creates links.
The event was covered by photo and video coverage, interviews and will be the subject of a restitution booklet tracing the young people’s journey and the master’s teaching.
This day is just the first act. Other meetings will follow, in other disciplines, with other craftsmen, to continue weaving this thread of memory between generations.
Between silence and light: the beauty of gesture
What will remain of this day? Perhaps the silence. The silence Victor Anicet spoke of, that suspended moment when the young people, concentrating on the earth, stopped talking to listen to their hands.
“Silence is music you don’t listen to anymore,” he says. “But it’s the rain that makes the flowers grow, not the thunder.”
This phrase sums up the whole spirit of Mémoire Vivante: learning to listen, to feel, to respect.
It’s not just an introduction to art, but a school a school of the eye, of gesture and of humility.
A living legacy
At the end of the day, the works take shape: bowls, silhouettes, birds… Simple creations, but full of meaning, symbols of inner learning. The youngsters leave with their pieces, a certificate of participation and, above all a new pride.
“Mémoire Vivante – L’art de se transmettre” proves that it is possible to combine combine art, transmission and integration. Living Memory proves that it is possible to combine art, transmission and integration, to give Martinique’s youth the means to reappropriate their heritage while building their future.
And if, in the end, the greatest legacy was this conviction, whispered by the artist himself:
“Clay needs water, air and fire. So do we. That’s what makes us human.” -Victor Anicet
💡 Partners :
Project managed by Richès Karayib with the support of the DAC Martinique and Énergies Nouvelles Antilles-Guyane (ENAG) in collaboration with Milcem, Milnord and Les Cycas.
