Collectif Ouaïe not & Cie

Biography

Collectif Ouaïe not & Cie Collectif Ouaïe not & Cie brings together gesticulating lecturers hosted by Jaspir Prod, the production organisation based in Saint-Jean-de-Bournay (Isère, France). Their playground is the gesticulated lecture (conférence gesticulée), a singular popular-education form that combines the rigour of a lecture with the energy of a theatrical monologue, passing on knowledge through the lived experience of those who carry it.

Born in France in the 2000s, the gesticulated lecture is a tool for training, empowerment and politicisation: personal anecdotes, analysis and humour are woven together, before an exchange with the audience, who are invited to share their own experience of the subject. The collective's lecturers build their pieces together, through residencies and public work-in-progress showings where the audience helps finish the work — what moved you, what was unclear, what did you discover.

The collective notably welcomed Philippe Cazeneuve, trainer and founder of Savoir en Actes, who continues his gesticulating-lecture activity there within Jaspir Prod. Across cultural venues, community centres and ideas festivals, Ouaïe not & Cie champions public speech that is accessible to everyone, whatever their age, profession or level of education.

Milestones

a gesticulated-lecture collective hosted by Jaspir Prod in Saint-Jean-de-Bournay (Isère); public work-in-progress showings of gesticulated lectures organised with Jaspir and popular-education partners (including in Chambéry and Dullin in 2021); Philippe Cazeneuve (Savoir en Actes) joined the collective, announced after his association was wound up at the end of 2024.

Show formats

• Gesticulated lecture
• Work-in-progress showing
• Audience discussion