FREE ENTRY / Fondation François Schneider - “Contemporary Talents” competition

Goals

• Encourage artists to take on the theme of water, which has always been part of the history of art.
• Lead them, through their artistic gesture, to think, to look, to analyze and criticize, to divert and use water, its properties, its symbols, its tools, its issues.
• Offer artists visibility to all audiences.
• Promote exchange and networking with cultural actors.
• Awaken the public, particularly the youngest, to contemporary art, and allow them, through the theme of water, to feel and better perceive the diversity of perspectives.

Competition terms and eligibility

This competition is open to visual artists, of all nationalities, adults, halfway through their career and in the following disciplines of plastic and visual arts: painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, photography, video or any other form of art plastic or visual (live performance and music are not included).

For installations and sculptures, artists have the opportunity to present either an existing work or a project. As part of a project, a production budget must be attached, of a maximum of €50,000.

For other artistic forms, only an existing work can be presented . No additional production budget can be allocated for paintings, drawings, photographs or videos. The work presented, which may consist of a set or a single piece, must be a unique copy. For video or photography, ideally the work must also be in a single edition, but if it includes editions, the allocation is different (see regulations). Productions of films, live shows and performances are not accepted.

4 to 6 winning artists are rewarded annually for their project or work.

The call for applications for the 13th edition of the competition will take place from September 27 to November 22, 2023.

Competition Eligibilities

• Proof of professional artistic activity and/or having graduated from an art school.
• Have a solid artistic background: work recently exhibited in institutions, galleries, festivals, etc. and/or have participated in an artist residency.

Endowment

Among the candidates, 4 to 6 Contemporary Talent winners will be chosen who will receive the following prize:

• €15,000 each for the acquisition of their work which is included in the Foundation's collection.

Also part of the endowment:

• Participation in a group exhibition within the Foundation's art center.
• A bilingual publication presenting the work of the winners.
• A video portrait of each of the winners.

For the creation of works presented in the form of projects (sculpture or installation) , a maximum envelope of €50,000 in production aid is made available , fragmented between the different projects according to the needs of the artists and the decisions of the jury. The files must include a detailed budget of production costs with quotation. The budget must not exceed €50,000 per project. For photographs and videos, in the event that the print is not unique, the prize is €8,000 (refer to the regulations for details); however, it is advisable to propose a unique edition for the competition.

Conduct of the competition

On the theme of water, artists are invited to submit their proposals, realistic or utopian, figurative or abstract, taking a unique and sensitive look at this theme.

Selection of works and projects

Four Expert Committees and an International Grand Jury will meet successively:

The Expert Committees Four expert committees made up of gallery owners, art critics, exhibition curators and winning artists of the competition, form pairs who analyze 200 files each and pre-select the finalists. The thirty finalist files are then presented to the grand jury.

The International Grand Jury This Jury, under the Presidency of Jean-Noël Jeanneney, will elect from among the thirty finalists, the 4 to 6 “Contemporary Talents” winners whose works will be acquired by the Foundation.

• Jean-Noël Jeanneney , Former President of Radio France, former Secretary of State and former President of the National Library of France – Paris (France)
• Constance de Monbrison , Head of the Insulinde collections, musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac – Paris (France)
• Alfred Pacquement , Honorary General Curator of Heritage – Paris (France)
• Chiara Parisi , Director of the Center Pompidou - Metz (France)
• Ernest Pignon-Ernest , Artist, Paris (France)
• Roland Wetzel , Director of the Tinguely Museum – Basel (Switzerland)
• Rosa Maria Malet, Director of the Joan Miró Foundation 1980 – 2017, member of the Board of Directors – Barcelona (Spain)