Alphabestiaire
As part of the opening of the Cité internationale de la langue française at the Château de Villers-Cotterêts, the Centre des monuments nationaux, the Imprimerie nationale, and the Centre national des arts plastiques have joined forces to launch an artist residency dedicated to creation, research, and experimentation around the theme “Typographing the Francophonie, or the Typographed Francophonie.” Eugénie Bidaut and the Atelier Baudelaire have devised an alphabet that references French-language culture in a playful, visual, and tactile way, appealing to both adults and children by sparking the imagination. It is an alphabet book featuring monsters and creatures drawn from Francophone culture in the broadest sense. Each monster is drawn in the shape of its initial letter, inspired by various stories describing its appearance. Together, these letters form an alphabet book they have named the Alphabestiaire de la francophonie.