Artist Charlotte Payet Honoured with the 2024 Arts and Crafts Prize

Cols de Bouteilles ©Mathilde Magne

‹

›

On 4 December 2024, the 2024 Arts and Crafts Prize, sponsored by the Félix Chomé Foundation, was awarded for the first time during a convivial evening at the Chamber of Skilled Crafts, in the presence of TRH Prince Guillaume and Princess Stéphanie, François Pauly, President of the Félix Chomé Foundation, Minister of Culture Eric Thill, as well as artists and craftspeople.

Sponsored by the Félix Chomé Foundation in memory of Mrs Léonie Schuster-Strasser and organised by the Chamber of Skilled Crafts in collaboration with the association De Mains De Maîtres, the Arts and Crafts Prize aims to support artists and craftspeople in Luxembourg by helping them create exceptional works that require the continuous refinement of their techniques.

Among the 10 projects submitted following the call for applications launched in July 2024, the jury, chaired by Mr Jean-Marc Dimanche, General Curator of the De Mains De Maîtres Biennale, selected Charlotte Payet.

The financial support provided by the Prize will enable the artist to bring her project to life, thereby contributing to Luxembourg’s artistic and cultural richness. The work she will create will be exhibited at the next De Mains De Maîtres Biennale in November 2025.

Born in 1993, Charlotte Payet is a Luxembourgish artist who holds a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from Muthesius University in Kiel, Germany, and a Master’s degree in Fine Arts from the Bezalel Academy in Jerusalem.

Her artistic practice is rooted in a profound reflection on the ecosystem’s cycles, viewing humanity as a microcosm within a macrocosm. Her remarkable 2023 work, Circulation, created from reclaimed PET and PETG bottles, illustrates this vision by transforming plastic waste into woven carpets, symbolising the interconnectedness of humanity and the challenges associated with waste management.

During his speech, Minister of Culture Eric Thill stated: “By supporting the creativity and excellence of our craftspeople, this prize highlights the crucial role of craftsmanship in preserving and promoting our traditions, while paving the way for innovation and the international recognition of our culture. Congratulations to Charlotte Payet on this well-deserved distinction. I look forward to discovering the work she will create.”

Charlotte Payet

Charlotte Payet (1993) is a Luxembourgish artist who holds a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from Muthesius University in Kiel, Germany, and a Master’s degree in Fine Arts from the Bezalel Academy in Jerusalem. Her artistic practice focuses particularly on the cycles of the ecosystem, viewing humanity as a microcosm within a macrocosm.

She collects plastic waste accumulating in her surroundings to create artworks made from industrially coloured PET bottles, transforming them into welded or woven surfaces, or three-dimensional sculptures. By collecting bottles in the Luxembourg region, she removes a small fraction of plastic waste from the consumption cycle and gives it a new purpose, transforming it into a woven carpet using one of the oldest traditional craft techniques. Her work reflects the interconnectedness of humanity and raises questions about the treatment of “waste”.