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Born in London in 1962, Melanie Kenyon was trained in elocution and public speaking from the age of 8 with the Central School of Speech and Drama exams and sang major classical works in school choirs till the age of 17. These experiences meant that she gained confidence in her oral expression skills. Together with a family environment that encouraged freedom of speech, movement and the appreciation of music and the arts, she overcame what was initially a somewhat quiet nature.
In 1980, at the age of 18, she came to France to learn French and study History of Art for a gap year, also joining the A Coeur Joie choir, directed by Georges De Kermel and recorded Handel's Messiah at the Maison de la Radio in Paris with Jean François Paillard's orchestra.
The one year, in fact turned into three, during which she became a full-time Fine Art student at the Ecole régionale des Beaux Arts de Valence.
In 1983 she returned to London to take up a place on a Bachelor's degree course in Graphic Design at Middlesex Polytechnic (now University).
The French period having been pivotal through a number of encounters, she decided to return to Valence after graduating in 1986 to develop her artistic and teaching career, working and translating for amongst others, the Chamber of Commerce, the Beaux Arts Museum, the Centre du Patrimoine Armenien. At the same period, she had the privilege of participating in jazz piano workshops, notably with Georges Arvanitas and body percussion with Jacques Bonnardel during the Crest Jazz Festival which widened her knowledge and understanding of music.
A few years on and now with three young children, her artistic practice was put on hold, though she took up dance again as an outlet for her creative energy. At the same time she continued to develop a teaching career at what was later to become the Ecole supérieure d'art et design Grenoble-Valence. She was instrumental in the establishment of the Erasmus charter at the school and remains responsable for the building of international mobility projects with the students.
Another core aspect that was to determine the content of much of her work at the school was realizing that many of the French students had no or very little practice in communication skills, one to one, or in front of an audience. Consequently, she began to draw a good deal on the ressources in vocal expression learned during her youth, thus developing a method and approach to mastering English, geared specifically to the needs of students in Fine Art and Design.
Her collaboration with the Comédie de Valence theatre, under the direction of Richard Brunel, has made for hugely stimulating and instructive projects, as well as continuing her personal training during drama workshops with, for example, Gaëlle Bourges, Lazare and Julie Delicquet of the Comédie Française.
At present she is in the process of writing a Master's on the subject.
What's happening next?
2018 saw her making forays into singing again and she is now a member of the Multiphonik group in Marseille led by the singer, arranger and composer, Valérie Perez.
Parallel to painting, drawing, ceramics, teaching and singing, she has several projects to make vocal performances that will combine her art practice and writing. Some of this is solo and some with members of Atelier Spritz and other fellow artists.
Another avenue to be explored in the near future is the creation of a company with her sister, Charlotte Kenyon, expedition leader and management consultant, also a singer. Her two daughters, Laura Kenyon, dancer and yoga teacher and Clementine, photographer and film-maker would also contribute. The four of them would propose workshops for a wide variety of groups to promote core skills for effective communication and team-building.
Four Letter Words
Wooden ladder 3m high
Scroll of paper perched on top
A seemingly endless list of four letter words are printed by hand, letter by letter and word by word, on an ageing, yellowing scroll of industrial paper.
Performance work.
Duration approximately 10mns
The short ring of a small bell is heard signaling the commencement of the performance. After the reading of various texts on themes related to the work of a artist, the ladder is climbed, the scroll unscrolled and the four letter words are read out in rapid fire by members of the collective and those of the audience who wish to participate.
Once on firm ground again, the principal reader continues to pull down the scroll until the words overlap each other and fall to the floor. The last text is then read and finally the little bell is rung to signal the end.
Melanie Kenyon was trained in elocution and public speaking from the age of 8 with the Central School of Speech and Drama exams and sang major classical works in school choirs till the age of 17. These experiences meant that she gained confidence in her oral expression skills. Together with a family environment that encouraged freedom of speech, movement and the appreciation of music and the arts, she overcame what was initially a somewhat quiet nature.