As the 2024 Jimei × Arles International Photo Festival celebrates its 10th edition, Three Shadows Photography Art Centre and CHANEL join forces once again to present the "Curatorial Award for Photography and Moving Image Finalist Exhibition" and unveil the winner of the 4th edition of the award along with the Jury’s Special Mention. Ahead of the opening, the highly anticipated "Curatorial Seminar," an integral part of the award programme, commenced, bringing together seasoned curators and experts to foster exchange and learning in contemporary curatorial practices for photography and moving images.
Launched in 2021 by Three Shadows Photography Art Centre and CHANEL, the Jimei × Arles “Curatorial Award for Photography and Moving Image” is dedicated to supporting emerging Chinese curators and researchers, fostering their growth and development in the field of photography and moving images. Since its inception, the programme has received 196 curatorial proposals, showcasing young curators' keen insights into social and cultural issues and their innovative approaches to these topics. During the four editions’ selection process, 40 proposals advanced to on-site jury reviews and workshops, with 20 of them exhibited at the Jimei × Arles International Photo Festival. Over the past three editions, the award-winning proposals have been successfully realised in Beijing, Shanghai, and Singapore, serving as vital stepping stones for young curators to enter the international stage.
The 2024 Curatorial Award for Photography and Moving Image Finalist Exhibition features five curatorial proposals: Ghost Dance (Curatorial Team: Starry Chen, Sylvia Tan), On Earth, We're Briefly Gorgeous (Curatorial Team: Yuting Huang, Zhejun Gao), Metal Odyssey [Curatorial Team: Yi-Ning Lin (Michelle), Chia-Shin Yang], Soup on the Oil (Curatorial Team: Fangfei Liu, Sun Liao), and Fragmented Intimacy (Curator: Jielei Zou).
The jury panel comprises esteemed artists, curators, and industry experts, including:
- Dan Cao, senior art journalist, curator, and documentary filmmaker;
- Ding Liu, artist, curator, and Co-Artistic Director of the 8th Yokohama Triennale;
- Ruben Lundgren, Dutch artist and curator;
- Silke Schmickl, CHANEL Lead Curator for Moving Image at M+ Museum, Hong Kong;
- Wang Naiyi, curator and Director of the Beijing Media Art Biennale;
- Christoph Wiesner, Director of Rencontres d’Arles, Co-Director and Art Committee Member of the Jimei × Arles International Photo Festival;
- Mia Yu, curator, researcher, and moving image artist;
- RongRong, contemporary Chinese photographer, Co-Founder and Co-Director of Three Shadows Photography Art Centre, Co-Director of the Jimei × Arles International Photo Festival, and Art Committee Member;
- Yan Qi, Executive Director of Three Shadows Photography Art Centre and Art Committee Member of the Jimei × Arles International Photo Festival.
Following three rounds of rigorous jury review and voting, Yi-Ning Lin (Michelle) and Chia-Shin Yang were awarded the 2024 Jimei × Arles "Curatorial Award for Photography and Moving Image" for their proposal, “Metal Odyssey”. Christoph Wiesner, represented the jury panel and reflected:” The jury was very impressed by the thoughtful and well executed curatorial projects, congratulations to all the participants. ‘Metal Odyssey’ as an exceptional project presenting a double perspective from an artist/curator point of view. Rooted in a deeply intimate experience of illness and family relationships, the exhibition beautifully demonstrates the passage towards a conceptual display combining medical documents, personal annotations and imagery. The shared sensibility between the two artists and two curators and their ability to transfigure personal challenge into an aesthetic experience through a variety of media including xerox, photography and video, is remarkable. We are looking forward to seeing the work develop into an expanded exhibition at the Three Shadows Photography Art Centre.”
“Metal Odyssey” will be developed into a full exhibition, scheduled to debut in spring 2025 at Three Shadows Photography Art Centre in Beijing. With the support of the programme, award-winning curators will also participate in the award’s professional development programme, encompassing academic research, international exchange activities, and a cash prize of RMB 100,000, to further advance their curatorial practice.
Starry Chen and Sylvia Tan got Jury Panel’s Special Mention of the 2024 Jimei × Arles "Curatorial Award for Photography and Moving Image" for their proposal, “Ghost Dance”. Cao Dan represented the Jury Panel and commented: “The exhibition proposal by two young curators from the 00s, outlines multiple narrative pathways linking the present, memory, emotion, and history of life. In addressing the ambitious and complex theme of diaspora and historical archiving, they excel in both the selection of artists' works and the conceptualization of the exhibition structure. In contemporary society, the state of diaspora not only refers to immigrants leaving their homeland for foreign lands but also encompasses the departure from ‘hometown’ and tradition. Especially with modern social media, the internet, and virtual technologies constantly presenting the singular ‘I’ or collective ‘we’ with fragmentation, disintegration, and diaspora, the exhibition inspires each of us to engage in new reflections.”
