Sophie Lapalu's research raises questions of legitimization and visibility; she makes attempts that oscillate from the margin to the center, conducting exhibitions with young creation, alternative structures, contributing to the recognition of minority practices. She asks the question of the meaning of the visibility of these practices and the place of its enunciation. This research has led her to experiment with formats: she invited Fluxus cab driver Jeff Perkins to share his 400 hours of recorded conversations with his clients i ("A Secret Poet," La Vitrine, 2011), a series of invisible works was documented by singer Ava Carrère ("D'échec en échec sans perdre son enthousiasme", YGREC, 2012), and in 2019 until today, with artist Fabrice Gallis, they embarked works on a small sailboat before sailing around the La Manche or to Marseille ([embed]). She proposes programming understood as possible exhibitions ("Revue pour Nuit Blanche", Théâtre du Grand Parquet, Paris, 2013, "What happened?" MacVal, 2014, "La célérité du Bernard l'ermite", Où, Marseille, 2015, "Le Festival de l'inattention", Glassbox, 2016, L'œil du poisson, Quebec, 2018, Hôtel Cosmos, In extenso, Clermont-Ferrand, 2018). Today her research focuses on action research (programming and workshop at Fructôse, Dunkirk, 2019) and intersectional feminism (conference programming and book to be published, ESACM).
She is also a member of the editorial board of the Belle Revue, a doctorate in aesthetics and art science, a teacher at the Ecole Supérieure d'Art d'Aix en Provence, a correspondent for *DUUU radio, and has published several books (Journal Embed, Around press, 2020, Street Works, New York, 1969, Presses Universitaires de Vincennes, 2020, CUL DE SAC, Astérides ateliers d'artistes, 2014, Rien n'est vrai, tout est permis. Interview with Florence Jung, Éd. Piano Nobile, 2014, De l'action à la conversation, Jean-Christophe Norman, FRAC Franche Comté, Les Presses du Réel, 2014).
From September 2022 until December 2022, Lapalu fulfilled the function of curator for the first year candidate-laureates within the HISK - Higher Institute for Fine Arts.