QUINCONCE: Mesoamerican Art & Circus Creation
The project aims to bring together social sciences and circus arts by exploring the research theme of "artistic creation and representations in scientific knowledge". It is led by a multidisciplinary team composed of researchers in anthropology and history, a circus artist, and an ‘ethnofunambule’ artist-researcher.
Planned activities will take place in Mexico from 2026 to 2028 and include: the exhibition Acrobacia mesoamericana de ayer y de hoy at the National Museum of Anthropology and History in Mexico City (in partnership with Artes de México), an international symposium on ritual performances, a scientific and popular publication, and the creation of a performance inspired by the research-creation methodology on the theme of the Mesoamerican quinconce.
The results of the project will be shared with both the general public and Mexico’s indigenous communities, culminating in a final meeting with the latter.
Aline Hémond is an anthropologist and professor of anthropology at Paris Nanterre University since 2022. A specialist in Mexico’s indigenous societies, she has been studying the Nahua peoples since 1988, focusing on political anthropology, the anthropology of images and indigenous artists, as well as climatic rituals and transnational cultural mobilities. She previously taught at the University of Picardie Jules Verne (2014–2022) and Paris 8 University (2004–2014), and has contributed to innovative educational projects, including ethnographic web documentaries.
Charlotte Pescayre is an ethnologist and contemporary circus artist specialising in tightrope walking. She is the founder and artistic director of Transatlancirque, co-founder and president of the Collectif Pluriel et Indépendant de Maromeros in Mexico (Correspondencias maromeras A.C.), and a member of the Société des Américanistes. She holds a PhD in ethnology from Paris Nanterre University and is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the UNAM Institute of Anthropological Research, as well as a candidate at the SNII (Mexico).
Since 2010, she has created cross-disciplinary circus performances with a transcultural approach, led workshops and conferences, and spearheaded projects to safeguard intangible cultural heritage, including the Correspondencias maromeras project, supported by UNESCO. Her work combines research-creation with intercultural collaboration between France and Mexico.
