Since 2014, through the Skills Academy the Foundation has invited a range of professionals – craftspeople, engineers and designers – to undertake a collective exploration of a universal material that promotes cross-disciplinary knowledge and brings together innovation, experimentation and sustainability.

Following on from wood, earth, metal, textiles, glass, stone and paper, the eighth edition of the Skills Academy will be dedicated to leather: a universal material both in its usage, which stretches back to the first civilisations, and in its presence in multiple cultures across the world. Leather craftsmanship spans a wide range of fields, from parchment and bookbinding, to clothing and furniture, and is worked using a variety of skills, many of which are centuries old. As such, the world of leather reveals a multiplicity of techniques, symbolisms and prospective questions that lie at the heart of the Skills Academy. The pedagogical direction of this edition will be led by designer François Azambourg, who is renowned for his experimental and poetic approach to design.

Over the course of the first half of 2027, the Academy participants – around 20 in total – will take part in a series of public talks, lectures and roundtable discussions that will explore the historical, technical, symbolic and ecological aspects of leather. Weekend visits will give them the opportunity to discover first-hand the contexts in which leather is produced, transformed and conserved. Then, in the second half of the year, the will combine and put into practice their respective skills along with the knowledge acquired in the first half of the year as part of a major collaborative workshop directed by François Azambourg.