My name is Adrien Houguet, born on July 26, 1993, in Nantes. I spent my childhood in Blain, a small town of about ten thousand inhabitants located forty kilometers north of Nantes in France. Coming from a rather rural background, I grew up oscillating between, on the one hand, the assimilation of popular traditions and local know-how, and on the other hand, the acquisition of cultural and scientific knowledge fueled by my intellectual curiosity.

After obtaining my scientific baccalaureate, I studied German and Russian cultures at the University of Nantes, then at the University of Rostock as part of my bachelor's degree. I continued my studies in this Franco-German spirit through an exchange program between the University of Nantes and the Hochschule Zittau/Görlitz in a master’s program focused on cultural mediation, cultural management, and international communication. These two years led me to pursue a Ph.D. on Franco-German cultural institutes in Russia. This research, conducted jointly at the University of Rouen-Normandy, the Technical University of Chemnitz, and the Hochschule Zittau/Görlitz, was completed in February 2022. I then embarked on a postdoctoral project focusing on the study of competition between different soft powers—namely American, Russian, Chinese, Turkish, and European—in Central Asia, in connection with the project of the Franco-German Cultural Institute in Bishkek. This ongoing research has resulted in numerous articles, reports, and presentations.

Alongside my academic journey, I have held various professional roles in the fields of culture, cultural diplomacy, as well as education and academic research. I notably worked in Germany for the Evangelical Foundation of Görlitz for Culture, taught history and cultural policies at the Hochschule Zittau/Görlitz, and coordinated research on urban and political aesthetics in Germany, Poland, and Georgia as part of a project initiated by the Saxon Institute for Cultural Infrastructure in Görlitz. Since my stay in Central Asia, I have been teaching international relations at prestigious universities in the region, such as the American University of Central Asia in Kyrgyzstan and Webster University in Tashkent. I also participated in the project to establish the Franco-German Cultural Institute in Bishkek, contributing to the organization of cultural events.

Outside of my academic and professional commitments, I am also deeply involved in the cultural field. I write poems on themes that particularly resonate with me. Having published several poetry collections and performed numerous poetic performances, I co-founded, with Ashot Danielyan, the collective “Ultrapoésie,” active in Central Asia. This collective blends contemporary poetry, music, and performing arts. In theater, I have explored roles as a playwright, director, and actor with the company “Autres Fauves” in Tashkent since 2024, putting into practice techniques acquired during school and university theater workshops. I also create plastic sculptures and develop various projects, such as board games and radio interventions. My curiosity for culture, science, and new experiences remains as vibrant as ever.

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Press Articles

- Article from the local newspaper Ouest-France upon the release of the Red Book. The article is available by clicking on this link

- Article from the Hochschule Zittau/Görlitz newspaper (in German) available by clicking on this link or this link

- Article from the local newspaper Presse Océan about the release of the book "Kleinstadtbilder" available by clicking on this link

- Another article from the local newspaper Éclaireur about the release of the book "Kleinstadtbilder" available by clicking on this link

- Article from the local newspaper Ouest-France about my participation in organizing the Couvre-Feu festival with Artem Nebesenko, available by clicking on this link

- Article from the local newspaper Ouest-France about the construction of a parade float with Houx Gaie Pride for the Saint-Laurent, available by clicking on this link