As part of the 5th annual Jeunes Talents (Young Talents) photography project, eight young photographers were sent on ten-day trips this past spring to various parts of France to capture their visions of contemporary French life. From September 22 to October 7, 2011, 53 of their photographs will be on display at the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in New York, after which they will be exhibited at Gallery 825 in Los Angeles from November 17 to December 2. A cultural tourism initiative that supports emerging U.S. photographers, Jeunes Talents combines tourism with the arts, and American with French sensibilities in order to illustrate life in France today. This art project was sponsored by Atout France and the French Los Angeles Exchange.*
In conjunction with the exhibition opening on September 21, an updated website will be launched that will display the photographers’ works. From that evening up until December 21, the public will be able to cast their vote for their favorite photo and artist. Each voter will automatically be entered in a sweepstake for a chance to win a free 5-day, 4-night stay for two in Martinique with airfare and a stay at an art boutique hotel. The public will also be able to cast their vote on a new iPad app to be launched on the same opening date – the link for this app will be available on the site. For a preview of the works and the artists involved, visit www.jeunes-talents.com.
The talented photographers who were selected for the trip are either students or recent graduates of prestigious art and design institutes around the U.S., including New York’s Parsons the New School for Design. This year’s destinations were Metz in the northern region of Lorraine, Toulouse in Midi-Pyrénées, Rouen in Normandy, and the French West Indies island of Martinique. While the photographers were given complete artistic freedom in their work, they were asked to focus on certain topics based on their location’s own unique cultural heritage. Those in Metz focused on performance art and urban planning, in Toulouse they focused on the topics of air, space and art de vivre, in Rouen they captured impressionism and art, and in Martinique they concentrated on local craftsmanship as well as the island’s lush atmosphere.
A selection of photos from the exhibition:
MARTINIQUE METZ ROUEN TOULOUSE
The 2011 Jeunes Talents:
Metz:
• Christine Hemm, Art Center College of Design
• Valorie Polmer, Parsons The New School for Design
Toulouse:
• Maeghan Henry, Art Center College of Design
• Christopher Golden, California Institute of the Arts
Rouen:
• Johanna Breiding, California Institute of the Arts
• Christina Hendershaw, Otis College of Art and Design
Martinique:
• Brandy Wolfe, Otis College of Art and Design
• Sam Ash, Parsons The New School for Design
New York Jeunes Talents Exhibition:
Cultural Services of the French Embassy Gallery
972 Fifth Avenue (at 79th Street), New York City
Hours:
September 22 to October 7, 2011
Open weekdays from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Admission: Free
*Jeunes Talents is a cultural project of Atout France – the France Tourism Development Agency, the Cultural Services Department of the Consulate General of France in Los Angeles, and FLAX France Los Angeles Exchange, a Los Angeles foundation dedicated to fostering a better understanding of France through public and cultural art events. Other partners include Rail Europe and the tourist offices of Martinique, Metz, Rouen, and Toulouse.