AASNouTec

is the Association for the


Advancement of Art, Science, and New Technologies


AASNouTec* has as its aims...

• The promotion and dissemination of new forms of Contemporary Creation in complementary association with Art, Science, Technology, Multi-media, Land Art, and Performance Arts such as concerts, theatre, film...
• The acquisition of a suitable building to restore and adapt as the setting for this innovative project, where our policy and the actions resulting from it, can be realised and perpetuated.

AASNouTec is a French Association (defined by the “loi 1901”) that was registered in Albi, the Tarn Prefecture, 3rd November 2010. It currently has 17 members drawn from the domains of Contemporary Art, Academia, Scientific research, and Technical Innovation. All our members (see Appendix, "Associates and Advisors" below) have proven track records in their respective fields and are dynamic individuals who know how to realise projects that go from theoretical dream to innovative reality.

In other words they get things done !

The key words that sum up AASNouTec’s initiative are Dynamism, Experience, Success, Education, Accessibility, Technical innovation, Interdisciplinary diversity, Originality, Partnerships, Dissemination.

* In French, when Technologies are New they are Nouvelles.

Our mission...

Too few institutions, whether they be places of “learning” or of “exhibition”, do enough to facilitate access to exciting new forms of contemporary creation. Too often they steep themselves in a hermetic culture that excludes the “uninitiated”. Our mission is to open up access to creation as a liberating force that regenerates society for the benefit of everyone.

Art, Science, Centre de Rencontre

The proposal is to create a “Centre de Rencontre”, a meeting place built around the concept of a multi-disciplinary interface between the Arts, Science and Technology. A small number of arts-based practitioners and experts in the fields of Science and Technology, with overlapping interests, will be invited to stay at a heritage site, ideally a Château, for periods of two weeks or more to share and exchange ideas. At the same time, there will be workshops for groups of up to twenty people, centring on the subjects of the invited experts. These experts will be available for informal discussions, preside over the seminars, provide practical demonstrations, and generally act as catalysts for group projects.

The inspiration for this proposal came from The Charter that governs the network of 12 of France’s most prestigious arts centres, the Centres Culturels de Rencontre, along with 16 similar centres in eight other European countries - Belgium, Portugal, Italy, Poland, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. (see The Charter page)

Experience gained from the Château de Linardié Contemporary Art centre in the Tarn in SW France, has given us many valuable insights into ways to turn this proposal into a viable business proposition. Over its 10 years existence, Linardié attracted many contemporary artists of international renown, enjoyed year on year increases in its visitor numbers and generated significant print media and television coverage of many of its exhibitions, (see Château de Linardié page). Some those involved in the  Linardiè project have joined AASNouTec to bring this proposal to fruition. (see Appendix "Associates and Advisors").

The Proposer, David Marshall, has more than 30 years successful experience in the cultural industries, as theatre director and manager, project leader, finance negotiator for independent projects and founder of the independent Contemporary Art Centre at the Château de Linardié in the Tarn department, South West France. His twelve years there gave him multiple contacts with artists, scientists, technologists, university researchers, and gallery directors, to be drawn upon in setting up and running this project. Additionally more than three hundred contemporary artists have connected with David on his Linked-In™ professional network. To find out more about David, see the "About me" and "CV" pages or visit his Linked-In™ profile, http://fr.linkedin.com/pub/david-marshall/25/935/38a

From Linked-In, February 11th 2013 :
David Congratulations! - You have one of the top 1% most viewed Linked-In profiles for 2012.
Linked-In now has 200 million members. Thanks for playing a unique part in our community! 

Intended markets...

• Courses in CAD Technology...
• For Land, Environment and Garden Art.
• For the Performance Arts.
• For Trans-European and International exchange programmes for young people at University.
• Tourism, offering guided visits for people on holiday as well as for people living in the vicinity.

The preferred location ideally will be a historic Château with annexe buildings and grounds capable of providing personal workspaces and accommodation for up to 3 specialists in residence and 20 people attending workshops and courses. It will need to be equipped with computers, multi-media, and other technical resources. The buildings must be adaptable to facilitate access for people of reduced mobility (wheelchair users and the elderly). The figures in the Business Plan and Financial Plan are based on the hypothetical acquisition of a particular identified site in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in South West France and used here as an example for the purpose of providing a concrete illustration.

Finance is needed for...

• Acquisition, adaptation and updating of fixed assets : a Chateau, annexe buildings and grounds.
• Purchase of depreciating assets, (fixtures, fittings, equipment) necessary for the project.
• Working capital for hiring personnel and running the building and grounds during the time needed to bring the envisaged activities on stream.

Timeline for costs over first three years...

Year One...

• Capital investment for the acquisition of the building.
• Adapting it for the project, Electricity, Sanitation, Equipment, etc.
• Working Capital provision to cover an anticipated negative trading balance on turnover of...
• Income from some activities (see paragraph above) and state subsidies for the salaried team,
• Expenditure on running costs for the building, some activities and salaries.

Year Two...

• Capital investment equipment, solar panels installation.
• Other than Capital Investment, positive trading balance anticipated on turnover of...
• Income from activities, state subsidies for the salaried team, solar panels installation.
• Expenditure on running costs for the building, activities and salaries.

Year Three...

• Capital Investment for equipment, office, administration.
• Other than Capital Investment, positive trading balance anticipated on increased turnover of...
• Income from activities, state subsidies for the salaried team, solar panels installation.
• Expenditure on running costs for the building, activities and salaries.

Investment...

• Capital Investment needed over first three years : €5.0 million - US$7.0 million (approx).
• A detailed Executive Summary & Business Plan and a Financial Plan will be made available to potential Investors. Contact David Marshall at chateau.linardie@wanadoo.fr
  
  

What the Centre will do

The Project will be realised through the following range of activities

• Artists, Technical Innovators, and Scientists in Residence will develop a range of activities culminating in Exhibitions and Demonstrations.

Income will come from...

• Holiday Courses in Land Art and Garden Design using CAD technology,
• European Erasmus programmes for Educational Partnership and Student Exchanges,
• Specialist Workshops and courses targeted to a wider, intellectually curious, general public,
• Concerts and Theatre performances,
• Hiring the facilities for Business Seminars, targeted at leading hi-tech Companies,
• Publications and Research Papers.

Additional Revenue...
The “ideal” property for our project should offer the possibility of an additional, guaranteed source of regular income. This income would come from the sale of electricity to EDF, France’s state electricity supplier. It would serve as a means of financing the residences undertaken by the  specialists described above. Photovoltaic solar panels would be fitted to a south-facing slope of the roof on one of the farm buildings. Environmentally friendly and self-servicing, this could be done without in any way compromising the artistic and research activities. The technical feasibility and the planning aspects of this revenue source have been verified with the relevant authorities. A reputable firm has been consulted as to the cost of this and its earning potential.

The U.S.P.

What the ASSNouTec centre will offer that other centres don't...


AASNouTec and competitor sites in other parts of the world (Europe, USA, Canada) share characteristics such as convenience to large population centres, proximity to road, rail & air networks, economic and social contributions to the areas in which they are established and diverse press & media coverage. Like theirs, the financial viability of our project will be based on sound business practices and marketing plans.


However, it is our intention to offer specialities that are not available elsewhere but entirely unique to AASNouTec. Our key words are : Independence, Innovation, Openness, Accessibility.

Independence…
Our centre will be free from the vagaries and “clientélisme" of public funding that tends to serve local political interests more than those of the centres that it is supposed to finance.

Innovation… 
It will provide an intimate environment for research, exchange, and the testing of new ideas in a unique form of collaboration. Our centre will be equipped with innovative technological tools that will go far beyond the usual level of CAD technology found in most of the “classic” centres. In this way it will be at the forefront of multidisciplinary initiatives that encourage creative interaction between scientific, technological, and artistic inputs.

Openness…
Thanks to the advanced equipment that will be available, our centre will offer unique opportunities for using hi-tech workshops on holiday courses, making them available to a wider intellectually curious public seeking participation in quality activities from which it would otherwise be excluded. This will be one of many ways to discover and nurture new talent in an informal research and learning environment.

Accessibility…
Because of the way our centre will be equipped and fitted out, access to these activities will be available to people with mobility difficulties.

Finally…
Our centre will be located in south-west France, an area rich in cultural heritage, wine, gastronomy, and sites of unique tourism interest. France is the most visited country in the world with 75 million visitors each year. Based in a prestigious historical site, our centre will be the finest justification for the restoration and preservation of that site, which will be an important marketing tool for attracting tourists and visitors.


          Only the centre proposed by AASNouTec will offer such diversity...


                                   And that will be its Unique Selling Point.

Investor Profiles

We are essentially looking for UHNW Investors who will have much in common with two of the brief profiles given here, as well as Hi-Tech companies looking for original ways to invest in the development of creative thinking within their Management and Executive teams...

The experienced collector, who’s passionate about Contemporary Art, regularly invests substantially in it, and who may be looking for original ways to consolidate and develop an Art collection.

The "Geek" start-upper, passionate about taking computer technology way beyond mere computers.

Hi-tech companies working at the cutting edge of technology, using new kinds of composites, materials and tools to create their products, who would welcome a place to use as a think-tank for interdisciplinary brain-storming sessions with inputs from Artists, Scientists, and University Researchers.

What's in it for them ? - the ROI

For the Art Collector...

The Collector-Investor’s collection would be put on permanent exhibition in secure allocated spaces, equipped with alarms and video surveillance...

Exciting interchange will occur between the work in the Investor’s permanent collection and the work undertaken by the Artists and Scientists in residence...

Thus creating interesting prospects for artistic and scientific symbiosis, cohabitation, confrontation and the opportunity to acquire new works for the permanent collection.


For the Geek...

The opportunity to own a prestige historic site, conducive to creating a “think-tank” cross-disciplinary environment, where Contemporary Art, and those who create it, come together with Scientists and Technical Innovators to inspire new kinds of thinking - 22nd century thinking…


For the Hi-Tech Company...

The opportunity to own a prestige historic site, suitable for business seminars, where inspired “brain storming” sessions can take place in an atmosphere where Specialists in Residence contribute to devising original ways of problem solving outside the Company’s usual thought processes and practices.


For all three...

High profile partnerships between the proposed centre and cutting edge hi-tech companies in Toulouse, notably the aerospace and satellite companies...

Education… High profile partnerships between the proposed centre and prestige Universities in France, Europe and the USA, as well as in China, India and other BRICS countries…

The opportunity to set up a Foundation that would perpetuate the memory and ideals of the Investor, or someone near and dear to the Investor…

Tax advantages obtained through the creation of a Foundation, along with positive and diverse press and media coverage, attracted by the activities of the Foundation.


Additionally...

For the owner of the historic building, once it's been restored and made a going concern, the site would increase substantially in value over the years.

For more detailed information about this proposal (notably the financials) email David Marshall at...
chateau.linardie@wanadoo.fr

Appendices

Associates and Advisors

Mr Francis Pratt... Artist, Scientist and Author - Founder and Director of the Painting School of Montmiral - Former Cottrell Memorial Fellow and Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Psychology, University of Stirling, Scotland - Founder member of the University of Sterling Vision Group.

Ms Carmen Wills... Deputy Principal (now retired), Saint Helens College of Further and Higher Education, Saint Helens, Merseyside, UK. Carmen and her staff have been developing and expanding new technology courses over many years. The college is now one of the most dynamic in the UK, having managed to generate a great deal of additional funding, both from the private sector and from European funding through the Leonardo and Erasmus programmes, which help fund student exchanges and developments between European Union countries and the purchase of high technology equipment used in contemporary creative processes.

Mr Louis Bec lives and works as an artist/scientist in Sorgues (Southern France). Before going freelance, he held two posts at the Ministry of Culture, Paris, the first of these being Inspector for the Teaching of Art, and the second Official Representative for the New Technologies. In parallel he founded the Institute for Scientific Paranaturalist Research, and created the title of Zoosystemitian.

Maître Pierre Médous Méliet has agreed to act as the Association’s legal advisor. He is a specialist in Business Law and European and International Law, as well as being a partner in Marguerit - Baysset - Ruffie, Société d’Avocats Associés in Toulouse. Maître Mélous Méliet also lectures in French and International Law, Property Law, and Employment Law at the University of Toulouse.

Mr Peter Richards... PR Consultants Paris. Peter is a business consultant who worked for many years with PricewaterhouseCoopers in London and Paris. He has studied the project thoroughly, especially the financial viability of the Business Plan and drew up the Financial Plan that accompanies it.




The Universities in Toulouse

The University of Toulouse Le Mirail II... The team at Linardié had considerable experience in collaborating and creating a partnership with the Department of Fine and Applied Arts at Le Mirail. Mr Xavier Lambert, and his colleague Ms Carole Hoffman, who are both Maîtres de Conférences organising colloquia and seminars at the University, gave lots of help, suggesting Artists to contact abroad, especially for the Summer Exhibition that would run for around two months.

Mr Xavier Lambert... Maître de Conférences for Fine Arts, University of Toulouse le Mirail, Midi-Pyrénées, France is a member of AASNouTec.

Ms Carole Hoffman... Maître de Conférences for Fine Arts, Director of Master 2 Professionnel Digital Création, University of Toulouse le Mirail in Midi-Pyrénées, is also a member of AASNouTec.


The Paul Sabatier University, Toulouse III specialises in the Sciences and Technology.

Mr Michel Lavigne... Maître de Conférences for multi-media, Department of Services and Network for Communication Technology, a discipline that is essential for the new forms of contemporary creation that are central to this project. The medium-term aim, with Michel, is to establish a similar relationship with this University, alongside that already established with Le Mirail. Michel is a member of AASNouTec.




Regulatory Framework

A law passed in 1901 governs the running and administration of associations, which with a board of trustees, function in much the same way as registered charities in the UK. The Association pour l’Art, la Science et les Nouvelles Technologies, registered on 3 November 2010 in Albi, Tarn, under its acronym, AASNouTec (reference n° W811003474) will be the vehicle for creating and developing our project.  

The Constitutive Assembly...
was held on 30 October 2010, the statutes were approved and the bank, where the Association’s account will be held, was selected. The following members were elected to the bureau...
Mr David Marshall : President and project Coordinator
Mr Thierry Maliet : Treasurer
Ms Frances Meadows : Secretary

Members of the Board...
Professor Gwyneth Boswell : Board Member
Ms Carmen Wills : Board Member, Student Exchange Programmes Advisor

Endorsements


Dame Elizabeth Esteve-Coll, Director, Victoria & Albert Museum, London (1987- 1995)

“The unique aspect of this proposal, founded on good business lines presenting credible financial projections, [along with] David Marshall’s successful experience in Gaillac, is to focus on inter-cultural activities for the English speaking world, based in a European context… I recommend this proposal as a serious project, both innovative and economically viable, which merits considered attention”. 


Joseph Nechvatal, post conceptual-art, digital artist and art theoretician

“I would welcome such a project, as it would offer opportunities to work with computer programmers. The possibility of offering a free space for digital collaborative activity would be entirely helpful to me or to anyone. The place looks really great and I hope that it works out for you… I look forward to showing my new work in the new chateau”. 


Pascal Dombis, computer engineer, digital artist

“What I would expect from the site... [that AASNouTec is seeking] ...is that it should be a stimulus for me, that it would force me to create new art forms in spaces that I would never find in the classic “white cube” type of place… As one would have more time available in the residence setting, it would be the occasion for the artist to take more risks… to experiment devices and ideas that one would never dare to do in Paris or New York”. 

Ideal Buildings...

Here are some images of the kind of building that would suit our project, selected according to the criteria set out in The Charter for the Centres Culturels de Rencontre. All these sites would be suitable for adaptation for the needs of our proposed project. They are situated in the Midi-Pyrénées Region in a radius running from North West, to North, to North East of Toulouse. See Geographical Situation below.

Geographical Situation

The site for the project should ideally be situated at around an hour’s drive from
Toulouse, in the Departments 47 (Agen), 82 (Montauban), or 81 (Albi)