Autel Humus is a research-creation project developed by artist and researcher Stéphanie Sagot within the unique ecosystem of Zone Sensible in Seine-Saint-Denis. Situated at the intersection of contemporary art, ecology, gastronomy, and social engagement, the project explores how artistic practices can actively participate in the regeneration of urban territories and in the reconfiguration of human relationships with soil, food systems, and non-human life.
Rather than producing a conventional artwork, Autel Humus unfolds as a long-term, situated process of inquiry and care. Rooted in ecofeminist and material-spiritual perspectives, the project treats compost not only as an ecological resource but also as a symbolic and collective medium through which questions of attention, transformation, and reciprocity are negotiated. By making invisible processes of decay, renewal, and interdependence perceptible, the project invites participants to experience the territory as a living assemblage of human and non-human actors.
Developed within the framework of the European Transformative Territories programme (2024–2025), Autel Humus engages a broad constellation of residents, gardeners, artists, chefs, students, and institutional partners. Through seasonal workshops, ritual gestures, shared meals, and collective performances, the project constructs a space where ecological knowledge, artistic experimentation, and social relations co-evolve. This evaluation examines the project’s transformative effects across representations, practices, and organisational structures, highlighting how research-creation can contribute to durable territorial change.
