This morning, during the Municipal Council session, the socialist group will present a wish in support of the citizen petition, signed by more than 100 personalities from the cultural world, photographers of course, graphic designers, visual artists, academics, musicians, architects, artists from the Villa Arson. There are very well-known names such as photographers Alain Gontier, Philippe Hurst, the artist Noel Dolla, or the musician Jean-Louis Chinaski…
The initiator of this petition is the photographer Olivier Remualdo, who opposes the establishment of Francis Huster’s theater school in the premises of the current Theatre of Photography and Image, as announced by the mayor of Nice a few days ago.
For Patrick Allemand, who presented this initiative surrounded by gallerist Christian Depardieu and Françoise Assus-Juttner, this initiative has no political significance: “It’s great to see civil society organizing. We are only in support. It is this inversion of the software of activism and political action that Nice at Heart* carries on innovative practices.”
It is the gallerist Christian Depardieu who illustrates this call: “Over the years, the Theatre of Photography and Image has established itself as a reference place for photography. Its exhibitions enjoy real recognition and are sometimes featured in other locations in France or abroad.
But above all, the people of Nice have embraced this space dedicated to photography, which is also a structuring element of the cultural animation of the city center.
The opening of a new theater school, led by a prestigious personality, is good news, but why not find a more suitable location for it?”
The mayor of Nice plans to transfer the TPI to the Museum of Modern Art, where the Architecture Forum is located. The artists doubt that this decision will weaken what currently exists for the benefit of a new initiative.
Moreover, the proposed location is absolutely not suitable for photography, whether in terms of space layout, lighting necessary for paper support, or conservation standards for photographic collections, unless extensive work is undertaken, even though there are many other locations that could host the new theater school at low cost.
Will the artists of Nice succeed in overcoming the dictates of authority?
