15 young talents showcase their take on architecture at Saint-Martin gardens
The photo exhibition runs from 5 June to 5 October © Monaco Tribune
Fifteen competition winners have been selected to exhibit their photographs showcasing Monaco’s architectural heritage.
Shortly before noon, on the heights of Monaco’s Rocher district, the young winners of the architectural photography competition had the pleasure of discovering their works, printed in large format, on the railings of the Saint-Martin gardens. “I’m pretty proud to see my photo up here. The perspective is even more striking in this format,” says Manon Bérard, 25, who took the photo entitled Entre béton, ciel et fierté nationale (Between concrete, sky and national pride) on her smartphone.
Aged between 11 and 25, the budding Monegasque photographers were among the fifteen selected from forty or so entries for the competition, which was organised by Monaco’s Department of Cultural Affairs on the theme of the Principality’s architectural heritage. According to Françoise Gamerdinger, Director of Cultural Affairs, the artistic initiative is part of the European Heritage Days, and she praises “the enthusiasm and the promotion of heritage through the eyes of the participants.”
Inspiring architecture
There was certainly plenty of scope for the would-be photographers. Packed with architectural diversity, with buildings at different heights, Monaco juxtaposes modern structures and buildings with strong Italian influences. For Lucas Deverini, 24, this composite aspect is reflected in the choice to use film as opposed to a digital image for his Crossroads of the Ages : “Taking your time to capture the moment, translating an idea through the grain of the photo… There’s something authentic about film! I set myself the challenge of doing a tour of Monaco on film and found that the subject lent itself well to the overlapping of architecture from different eras.”
Echoing the spirit in which the competition was organised – cultural heritage – the young photographer used a Nikon F4, bequeathed to him by his grandmother, who was also once a photographer. “For the last two years, I’ve been working on themes such as mountains, portraits and street scenes to get used to these old cameras. For this subject, I particularly enjoyed delving into the history of the buildings. I hope to develop this passion and combine it with my current work in the audiovisual industry.”
Four jury awards
For its first edition, the competition had a double jury. One was made up of experts: Françoise Gamerdinger, Stéphane Bern, Nick Danziger (photographer, director and writer), Célia Bernasconi (Chief Curator at the New National Museum of Monaco), Jean-Philippe Vinci (Director of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport) and Björn Dahlström (Director of the New National Museum of Monaco).
The second, equally demanding, was made up of five youngsters of the same age group as the participants. They had the difficult task of awarding four special prizes from among the fifteen exhibitors. “Being judged by people our own age is pretty stressful! Their perceptions are quite different from the adults,” says Léonie Massa, 17, one of the four winners with her photo Monaco à traverse les époques (Monaco through the ages) – a veritable myriad of façades from the Boulevard des Moulins. “You might think that photos by teenagers are pretty ordinary, but when I saw the ones on show at the exhibition I found that we each had a very personal view.” As well as having their work hung outside the Saint-Martin Gardens, Léonie and the other three winners will be able to attend a masterclass with Nick Danziger.
Those who don’t have that chance will still be able to see the exhibition free of charge until 5 October, before it goes on tour in Strasbourg! Given the success of the first competition, Françoise Gamerdinger confirmed that a second edition is already planned for next year. So there’s plenty of time to practise.