With 45,000 visits, the seventh edition of the Art History Festival broke a new record. By choosing in turn to attend conferences, round tables, projections, shows, meetings with authors and art historians, guided tours, festival-goers were able to discover the variety of fields of art history. This high attendance confirms the interest of a cultural offer both scientific and educational which is addressed both to professionals and the general public.
The Minister of Culture, Françoise Nyssen, welcomes the commitment of the organizers who worked to ensure this important meeting between the public and the history of art. This edition dedicated to «Nature» had for country invited the United States.
Organized by the Ministry of Culture, the National Institute of Art History and the Fontainebleau Castle, the Festival is a multidisciplinary event that promotes the public encounter with all those who make the history of art.
Sponsor of this 7th edition, Jeff Koons delivered the inaugural lecture.
Many speakers, art historians, artists, architects, landscapers, filmmakers, gallery owners, etc., have given very followed lectures, Citonscelles by Louis Benech, Bernard Blistène, Christian de Portzamparc, Jean-Luc Martinez, Jean-Pierre Criqui, Alain Schnapp, CatherineChevillot, Laurent LeBon.
Nature, theme of this 7epublishing
The Festival has made it possible to explore the theme of nature along three main lines: nature as an ordered whole, nature as a stage and nature as an environment. The conferences discussed the ecological issue in art.
Fontainebleau Castle, its forest and gardens were conducive to these reflections
The United States, guest country
The involvement of the invited country has made it possible both to address the major current issues underlying art history in the United States and to present American art to the French public. American financial and scientific support was numerous, making possible the arrival of forty speakers from the most prestigious research centers and universities in the United States, including ColinB. Bailey, Alan Braddock, Hollis Clayson, Elizabeth Cropper, André Dombrowsky, ThomasW.Gaehtgens, Darcy Grimaldo Grigsby, Christopher Heuer, Yuriko Jackall, Jonathan Katz, Alexander Lee, Tom McDonough, Todd Olson, Vanessa Schwartz.
News forum
The result of a complete overhaul since 2016, the Forum de l'actualité has offered a new space for debate to the actors of the art world. The various conferences and round tables have returned to the major exhibitions of the moment devoted to the theme of Nature, but also to current issues in the world of art, such as issues related to «false», the law of images, or artistic and cultural education.
Art & Camera Section: 70 films and conferences about the United States and nature
A tribute to Frederick Wiseman allowed us to know how this great director views artistic institutions and the challenges of creating and disseminating works. John Boorman, guest artist of the Art History Festival, presented his film Deliverance. Art & Camera has proposed a selection of works by filmmakers who make nature an actor in its own right. Festival-goers have seen Gerry of Gus Van Sant, The red line of Terrence Malick, Take Shelter of Jeff Nichols.
Noah Teichner was awarded the Art & Camera Award for Creative Assistance to Support the Production of an Art Film Project Navigator.
The Young Critic Award, a short film award allowing high school students to try their hand at film analysis, was awarded to Kathy Sebbach for her film La Harde.
Programming dedicated to young people and families
The Festival’s programming also benefited from a section dedicated to young people and families, with the presence of the Comédie française, guided tours and presentations of works by students of the École du Louvre and the Université Paris-Sorbonne, concerts by students of the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et danse de Paris and former students of the American Schools of Art. The fruit of a year’s work of 15 classes from the CP to the second, an original artistic and cultural education project, called «cabinet des natures fantastiques», was also presented during the three days of the Festival.
Book Fair and Art MagazineA unifying event for publishing and the art bookshop, the Salon once again showcased all the diversity of art publishing with, this year, a hundred publishers and booksellers. About twenty book presentations and signing sessions confronted the authors with the public.
The editions of the Maisons des sciences de l'homme/ Centre allemand d'histoire de l'art Paris have received the prize of the Salon du livre and the art magazine for the introduction to French of the book Kurt Martin and the Museum of Fine Arts of Strasbourg. Museum and exhibition policy under the IIIe Reich and in the immediate post-war period. Norma Publishing received the Salon du livre et de la revue d'art award for its extraduction. Craft a contemporary anthology for the craft of tomorrow. Florian Meunier for Martin and Pierre Chambiges. Architects of flamboyant cathedrals and Hélène Valance for American nights. Night art in the United States were awarded the Olga Fradiss Award. The prize of the Association des professeurs d'archéologie et d'histoire de l'art (APAHAU) went to Pauline Mari for her research article «Les Diagonales du fou» in The eye of the maze of Mario Caiano.
Spring University: training teachers to meet the work of art
Finally, organized in partnership with the Ministry of National Education, the 7th Spring University was an opportunity to establish and deepen a fruitful dialogue between the actors of the educational world, art historians, researchers, art and museum professionals, and artists.
Françoise Nyssen, Minister of Culture, would like to thank all those who contributed to the success of this 7th edition.
The 8th edition, taking place from June 1 to 3, 2018, will focus on Rêve.www.festivaldelhistoiredelart.com