The Cheapest University was an experimental and free art school. Its shape and organization were carried out by artists and formed through elective affinities, with a spirit of enthusiasm and openness. As a contributory and artistic university, it operated on direct participation: dependent solely on the will of its members – all volunteers. The proposals emerged from their own practices, either as extensions of their personal research or as collective inventions aimed at creating artworks. The Cheapest University strived to create collective working conditions that welcomed new members, regardless of their research stage.
The Cheapest University enabled knowledge to be co-produced and transmitted but, unlike a traditional university, writing was not the only privileged form. Artworks, regardless of the medium, exhibitions, and publications were considered interfaces allowing access to the knowledge produced within The Cheapest University.
In 2015, a research group was established through monthly meetings, public conferences (Saisir l’école avant qu’elle ne s’évanouisse at Paris 8 University and the Cheap Talks at Villa Belleville), two preparatory workshops (Workshop-tranquille in Pornichet in Loire-Atlantique and L’école emportée in Treignac Projet in Corrèze) and a community-driven website.
The Cheapest University continued its research and developed educational programs in various spaces (art institutions, radio stations, art schools, residencies, etc.). Its activities centered around a series of experimental courses open to the public and external contributions (How to Become a Lesbian, EAAPES, Silent Red Alert, Making Babies Butterflies, …). The Cheapest University also organized public meetings and discussions within its experimental course programs (The Long Love Letter, What’s in my bag, Pleasure of Missing out – La sèche). In 2016, the publishing house Donna Quixote Press was created to release translations and experimental prose, fiction, and essays produced within the workshops.
The Cheapest University was a community focused on collective experimentation and emulation through various work formats and presentations. The public nature and formal aspects of these projects were adjusted as needed, based on the specific requirements of each initiative undertaken within the school.
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The Cheapest University maintained a recurring presence at Treignac Projet (Corrèze, France) and was invited to organize workshops and programs at La Salle de Bain (Lyon, 2018), Künstlerhaus Büchsenhausen (Innsbruck, Austria, 2018), erg (Brussels, 2018), Paris Internationale (Paris, 2017) and Carreau du Temple (Paris, 2017).