Photo : Maison de la Conversation
Conflictuality Laboratory
Conflict is often treated as something to avoid, but what if it could be a catalyst for growth? This experimental workshop series invites you to investigate the power of tension and learn how to channel it into collective artistic projects. A unique space to rethink our connections and express the complexity of our disagreements.
Maison de la Conversation (Paris 18th)
About
The Laboratoire des conflictualités at Maison de la Conversation in the 18th arrondissement offers a space to rethink how we navigate personal and social tensions. Led by artist-researcher Lena Karson, this series of ten sessions focuses on creative inquiry, transforming conflicts into opportunities for growth rather than negative experiences. Open to anyone interested, from artists to researchers or simply curious minds, these workshops combine collective discussion and artistic practice to find new ways to engage with conflict. Participation is entirely free, and you are welcome to attend sessions based on your availability between 18:00 and 20:00.
Call for participation: a laboratory of 10 sessions, meeting once a month, on the notion of conflictuality as part of a research-creation project led by Lena Karson.
These sessions will be a testing ground, bridging a space for listening and speaking, artistic workshops, research, and collective learning around our conflictualities:
What place do they have in our lives? How can we live better with them? How can we create a culture where we can welcome our conflictualities to "fulfill" them? How can we conceive of them, not as pathologies that leave bitter traces, but as trials that possess the power of transformation? What "spaces for conflictuality" can we put in place to allow for these transformations? What artistic forms can we give them?
These questions will guide us throughout the sessions and will form the basis of a collective, artistic presentation as an answer. This laboratory does not function as therapy or conflict mediation. It is an initiative stemming from the founder's desire to bring people together around this important yet rarely addressed subject. I invite you to contribute to this draft of education on conflictuality.
Lena Karson is an independent artist-researcher on issues of conflictuality, a cultural mediator, and is trained in conflict mediation.
Let's meet on April 7th at 6:00 PM at the Maison de la Conversation for a first meeting, to explain the framework of the upcoming sessions and hold an initial artistic workshop!
Whether you are an artist, researcher, mediator, or simply curious, your experience and perspective are welcome to help co-construct this collective adventure. You are invited to commit to all 10 sessions, but occasional participation based on your availability is entirely welcome. You are also welcome to join along the way.
Dates
Tuesday, April 7
Tuesday, April 28
Tuesday, May 26
Tuesday, June 9
Tuesday, July 7
Tuesday, September 15
Tuesday, October 13
Tuesday, November 10
Tuesday, December 15
Tuesday, January 12, 2027
Schedule
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Price
Free participation (on-site)
Facilitation
Lena Karson
How to get there?
Maison de la Conversation
10-12 rue Maurice Grimaud, 75018 Paris
Recommended public transport
- Metro: lines 4 (Porte de Clignancourt) or 13 (Porte de Saint-Ouen)
- Tram: T3B, stop Angélique Compoint – Porte de Montmartre
- Bus: lines 60 and 95, stop René Binet
Instagram: @iciconversation
Website: maisondelaconversation.org
Our take on this event
Conceived by Lena Karson, the Laboratoire des conflictualités is a research-creation initiative exploring the role of conflict in our daily lives. Far from acting as a therapeutic service, this collective project seeks to redefine disagreements as transformative experiences. Through a series of ten monthly sessions, participants engage in listening, collective learning, and artistic workshops, with the aim of developing a final collaborative output.
Sessions take place at the Maison de la Conversation, located at 10, rue Maurice Grimaud, from 18:00 to 20:00. The upcoming scheduled dates are Tuesdays, October 13, 2026, November 10, 2026, December 15, 2026, and January 12, 2027. Attendance is free of charge, with no prior reservation required to join the discussion.
The project welcomes all contributors, whether you are an artist, a researcher, or simply eager to share your perspective. While consistency is encouraged for the sake of the collective process, the laboratory is designed to be flexible, allowing new participants to join at any point in the cycle.
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Weather forecast
Light rain
max +23 °Cmin +15 °C
