Three Shadows Photography Art Centre and CHANEL co-present the Curatorial Award for Photography and Moving Image Finalist Exhibition and unveil the winner and Special Mentions of the 2023 Curatorial Award for Photography and Moving Image during the opening week of the 2023 Jimei x Arles International Photo Festival.
The Jimei x Arles Curatorial Award for Photography and Moving Image, jointly launched by the Three Shadows Photography Art Centre and CHANEL in 2021, aims to support young creative forces in photography and moving image art and to discover and nurture outstanding young Chinese curators and researchers working with these mediums. Since its inception, it has attracted 150 individual/curatorial teams to engage in interdisciplinary research and curatorial practices. At the annual Jimei x Arles International Photography Festival, the initiative has supported 15 curatorial teams, offering them opportunities to interact with the public and media through an exhibition program featuring the finalist proposals. Moreover, the initiative facilitated the realization of exhibitions for two past award winners, enabling their research trips to Europe. Additionally, it invites internationally renowned curators to conduct online “Master Courses” .These courses aid emerging curators in broadening their global academic perspectives, providing them with valuable guidance for their future curatorial endeavors.
The 2023 Curatorial Award for Photography and Moving Image Finalist Exhibition features five curatorial proposals: Bodies of Informatics (Curatorial Team: Gwendoline Cho-ning Kam & Li Suchao), The Via Combusta (Curatorial Team: Gan Yingying & Zhou Yichen), Beyond the View (Curator: Wang Jiayi), Song for the Luddites (Curator: Feng Junyuan), and Intimacies of Excess (Curator: Wang Wenjia). Gu Zheng, Art Committee member of the Jimei x Arles International Photo Festival and professor of Fudan University, said, “The Jimei x Arles Curatorial Award for Photography and Moving Image Finalist Exhibition serves as an arena for testing the imagination and concepts of new curatorial talents. Their meticulouslyprepared curatorial projects are pointed and cutting-edge in their thematic focus, also offering valuable case studies on how to enhance the academic aspect of photography.”
A jury committee of experts convened for the 2023 Curatorial Award for Photography and Moving Image, including:
- Cao Dan: Senior art journalist, curator, and documentary film director
- He Jing: Ph.D. in Philosophy, art critic, curator
- He Yining: Researcher in the field of global photographic and visual arts, curator
- Christoph Wiesner: Director of the Rencontres d'Arles, co-director and member of Art Committee of Jimei x Arles International Photo Festival
- Lisa Springer: International Programmes Curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), London
- Carol Yinghua Lu: Art historian, curator, the Director of Beijing Inside-Out Art Museum
- RongRong: Contemporary photographer, co-founder and co-director of Three Shadows
Photography Art Centre, co-director and member of Art Committee of Jimei x Arles International Photo Festival
- Yan Qi: Executive Director of Three Shadows Photography Art Centre, member of Art Committee of Jimei x Arles International Photo Festival
Following three rounds of discussion and a final vote by the jury, The Via Combusta and its curatorial team Gan Yingying & Zhou Yichen, won the 2023 Jimei x Arles Curatorial Award for Photography and Moving Image. The jury was impressed by the curator’s duo clever and deep research process for the exhibition project: the team has chosen a very important and current theme that has been experienced by the curators themselves but also by their community. The exhibition stands out because of its serious approach with actual in-person meetings with artists, and its creative exhibition layout and presentation.
The Via Combusta will be materialized through the programme and the final exhibition will meet the public in 2024. Moreover, the winning curatorial team Gan Yingying & Zhou Yichen will participate in a mentoring and exchange programme and receive a cash prize of RMB 100,000.
The other 4 shortlisted proposals were also highly commended by the Jury. Bodies of Informatics (Curatorial Team: Gwendoline Cho-ning Kam & Li Suchao) received a Special Mention from the jury member Cao Dan: Bodies of Informatics boldly posits the hypothesis that digital technology has invaded the physical bodies of humanity, heralding a series of urgently-needed discussions about the anxieties arising from today's artificial intelligence technologies. Through eight pieces of visual works, the curators creatively pose these questions in an artistic and perceptive manner and invite the audience to ponder.
Beyond the View (Curator: Wang Jiayi) received a Special Mention from the jury member Carol Yinghua Lu: Wang Jiayi's curation proposal demonstrates a clear awareness of issues, offering insightful critical understanding of the complex interaction between media discourse and the real world. There's a certain depth evident in the selection of works, which reflects diversified narrative, backgrounds, and perspectives. While there is room for improvement in visual expressiveness, it remains a thematic exhibition with considerable potential.
Song for the Luddites (Curator: Feng Junyuan) received a Special Mention from the jury member Cao Dan: Song for the Luddites uses the Luddite movement in early 19th century England as a reference, when the Industrial Revolution disrupted traditional arts and handcrafts. Based on this historical event, the exhibition reflects upon the contemporary revolution of digital technology and AI, which might trigger a new wave of resistance, a modern version of the Luddite movement that might go beyond its predecessor’s understanding. As the selected artworks speak to the working conditions in today’s tech companies, the exhibition serves as a reminder and an inspiration to today’s “Luddites”, enabling them to truly comprehend the power of technology and fight against exploitation.
Intimacies of Excess (Curator:Wang Wenjia) received a Special Mention from the jury member Lisa Springer: Wang Wenija’s thoughtful curated exhibition stood out to the jury because of her clever use of multiple perspectives of the exhibition theme. She creatively combined all works in the exhibition to one narrative whilst also keeping the individual artworks content visuable and readable for the viewer. We were especially impressed by the professionalism of the curator and her creative approach.
Rong Rong, co-founder of the Three Shadows Photography Art Centre, co-initiator and co-director of the Jimei-Arles Awards, also expressed his appreciation for the finalists of the Curatorial Award. Besides the outstanding methodology and extensive research behind their proposals, they also showcased solid skills and great potential in execution and presentation, which deserve continued attention and support from experts and organizations within the field.
On December 16, 2023, during the opening of the shortlisted proposals exhibition for Jimei x Arles Curatorial Award for Photography and Moving Image, members of the jury Cao Dan, Lisa Springer, and Carol Yinghua Lu specially invited the renowned art historian and instructor of Jimei x Arles Curation Masterclass, Wu Hong, along with Jiang Zaiming, a seasoned expert in the Chinese art market, collector, and contemporary art curator, to discuss the theme "Curatorial Practice and Intercultural Dialogue." Their dialogue explored the significance of curators within the entire art ecosystem, emphasizing curating as anartistic practice and even a social practice, and highlighting its cultural mobilization and societal shaping functions within the contemporary art mechanism from intercultural political and international perspectives.
Regarding the establishment of new connections between theoretical concepts and innovative working methods for image curators, Wu Hong pointed out the inadequate recognition of the importance of curators in society. Support for curators, such as the Jimei x Arles Curatorial Award for Photography and Moving Image, remains rare. Curators must possess innovative awareness, emphasizing breakthroughs in the concepts, mechanisms, and functions of their work in exhibitions. This emphasis should aim to enhance people's understanding of art, facilitate art exchange and elevation, and drive the development of art. Nurturing curators is crucial, and beyond critics and theorists, the support of individuals from various fields, including artists, is indispensable. Such support will aid young curators in expanding their thinking and igniting creativity.
To further nurture curatorial talent, the Jimei x Arles Curatorial Award for Photography and Moving Image will expand its educational efforts beyond the Master Courses by introducing the Curators Roundtable, a non-profit program. This initiative will involve senior curators, young curators, and scholars in critiquing curatorial proposals. They will analyze, discuss, and refine individual curatorial projects, inviting diverse experts from various sectors of the imaging field as guest speakers to share their insights.
Extending the House’s legacy of arts patronage that began with Gabrielle Chanel’s support of avant-garde artists of her time and her desire to be part of what happens next, CHANEL launched its CHANEL Culture Fund in March 2021, supporting innovators across the arts in advancing new ideas and greater representation in culture and society. It is a global programme focusing on two areas: a series of international partnerships to catalyse new perspectives with institutions and organizations, including the “Next Cultural Producer Programme” co-created with the Power Station of Art in Shanghai; and CHANEL Next Prize, developed to provide an emerging generation of creative risk-takers with resources to tackle ambitious new projects, creating conditions for artists to experiment with visionary ideas, test new forms of artmaking and collaborate across disciplines. As one of the House’s signatures, CHANEL also continues dialogue with the world of cinema, collaborating with numerous film festivals and institutions, including FIRST International Film Festival and China Film Directors Guild, to create conditions for women and emerging filmmakers to thrive.
The Curatorial Award for Photography and Moving Image at the Jimei x Arles International Photo Festival reaffirms CHANEL's commitment to the freedom of creation and human potential, by encouraging young curators to engage in contemporary photography curationand research, and empowering them to voice for greater presentation, and thereby advancing positive impact in the world.
