The board of directors of the École supérieure des beaux-arts de Bordeaux (Ebabx) met on Friday, September 19, to examine the renewal of the institution's director for an additional three-year term. In a nearly unanimous decision, with 12 out of 13 board members present voting against renewal, Audry Liseron-Monfils will not continue in his role as director.
Baptiste Maurin, president of the school's board of directors, explained the decision behind the non-renewal. "He completed a first three-year term, and the standard procedure requires him to present a project for the next three years," Maurin stated. "This project was not convincing," he added, without providing further details about the specific shortcomings of Liseron-Monfils' proposed plan for the institution's future.
The Bordeaux municipal and metropolitan councilor announced that a new recruitment process "will open immediately" to find a replacement. The new director will be expected to assume their duties on April 1, 2026, the day after the current director's contract expires. This timeline gives the institution several months to conduct a thorough search for suitable candidates.
Liseron-Monfils had previously succeeded Dominique Pasqualini as director of Ebabx. An accomplished artist and former director of the Campus Caribéen des Arts in Martinique, he had initially presented an ambitious multi-year project for the institution. His vision aimed to combine "pedagogy and research with analysis of contemporary global creative realities," demonstrating his commitment to connecting local education with international artistic trends.
During his tenure, Liseron-Monfils had expressed ambitious goals for expanding the school's influence and reach. He sought to develop "synergies at the scale of Nouvelle-Aquitaine" and strengthen the school's presence "in the Bordeaux metropolitan territory through projects rooted in local cultural life." These objectives reflected his desire to integrate the fine arts school more deeply into both regional and local cultural ecosystems, though apparently his future plans failed to convince the board of directors to extend his leadership.
