Once upon a time
That's me, Louise Guillaume, the brains behind Inward-Outward :)
Inward-Outward
Towards the inside
Towards the outside
Like a wave,
Shoring in and out
Getting closer
And then
Distancing itself again
Well that is exactly what I have done with that brainchild of mine: Inward-Outward. Once a travel blog, I later turned it into an umbrella structure for various projects: music festival missions, exhibitions and podcasting. After entering the whirlwind of my first corporate job, I decided to put it on the backburner. These days it is reinvigorated by a new lease of energy and is flourishing once more. Now that it is all set back in motion, I wanted to tell you about Inward-Outward’s story that started almost a decade ago.
2015
>>> THE START <<<
It had been a little while since a solo trip had occupied a special place in my list of dreams. Finally, the planets aligned, and I set out to travel by myself for over 6 months. As you did, I wanted to keep a blog to share my experiences and was looking for a name more sophisticated than “Louise around the world” - riveting right?!
Sitting is the gentle autumnal glow of London - a place I once called home - I thought of the lyrics of a song I loved:
“You’ve got to go inward to experience the outer space that was made for you” - Lost Queen by Pharrel Williams.
This song is glorious for many reasons, but this blog is not a song analysis so here are just two: first its celebratory and women-embracing lyrics, second its two-part structure beautifully assembled. When it seems the song is coming to a close, a wavy sounding transition ushers in meditative and spiritual vocals acting as a perfect counterpoint to the upbeat part of the song. It’s in that second part that the special lyric is introduced.
It beautifully highlights one’s discovery of inner life and how directly related it is to self-actualisation. It sprung back to mind as I was summoning the inspiration to find a blog name that would embody the true intention behind my solo adventure.
I played with the concept of the lyric and jolted some words on a blank page before it came out: “Inward-Outward”. I knew instantly I had found it. In the first months of my trip a couple of synchronicities confirmed the initial intuition that I had a good thing going on.
Once back from my travels I reluctantly retired Inward-Outward as I was still very much keen on the name and what it meant to me…
2018
>>> SECOND LEASE OF LIFE <<<
A few years later I found myself in the middle of a career change. Goodbye international relations and hello creative industries! Starting from the ground up I wanted to try my hands at different activities. Always seeking cohesion, I was looking for a framework to hold my projects in one place and make my new path more understandable to others – and to myself!
In the span of 10 days the vision assembled in my mind. I would bring Inward-Outward back to life and rebrand it so it could become the home for my various endeavours:
· With some strong event logistical skills music festivals felt like a natural path to segway into the creative industries. I searched for festivals to land a hand to and ended up joining the organising teams of Pete the Monkey and Festival 36h.
· While participating in the team meetings for Pete the Monkey at le Pop-Up du Label, my attention was caught by their newly opened gallery space. Soon enough I was organising Inward-Outward’s first exhibition there. Four followed, showcasing the art of lithographers and photographers.
· A few exhibitions down the line, I felt inspired to cast a light on artists and their work in another way. A fan of Song Exploder and La Poudre, I produced the Inward-Outward podcast that dove deep into the inspiration and the production of songs via an interview format of musicians.
After a couple of years of entrepreneurial adventures, I felt ready to take a break from the one-woman-show that was Inward-Outward knowing that I would come back to it eventually.
2024
>>> THIRD CHAPTER <<<
A third leap in time and Inward-Outward is springing back to life following some months of rest to reconnect to dormant parts of my brain. On a beautiful Irish summer afternoon, basking in the sunlight on a bench, it all rushed back to the front of my mind. Equipped with a notebook and pen, I penned once more the outlines of Inward-Outward. This time though they were refined from the insights gained during my experiences in the corporate world.
The fall of 2024 has been dedicated to developing the first instalment of this new chapter. Months of hard work to create Pop Decoder a podcast born out of endless conversations about music with my friend Joe Kams. Podcasts have long been my favourite way of consuming content. I love discovering it all: the name, the cover, the animator, the jingle, the sound engineering… Making Pop Decoder with Joe Kams has been a joy, and I am beyond happy to be bringing it to your ears.
The other instalment of Inward-Outward’s new chapter is a third exhibition with my favourite artist, namely my mother: Clotilde Guillaume. The exhibition, coming up in May, will showcase our latest work. A multidisciplinary artist, Clotilde is greatly inspired by her excursions in nature and this spring exhibition should be no exception. We look forward to sharing her new series of artworks with you.
With all of that being said: open your ears and keep your eyes peeled! I am elated to bringing you new experiences. I hope you will enjoy and be inspired by them.