Production, circulation, diffusion. Les enjeux de la photographie de guerre au sein des institutions en France et à l'international

Theme: France has offered you photography. You who are the guardians, the users, how did you keep it, save it, order it, spread it, valued it from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century?

Photography & War: Second cultural operator of the State, the Ministry of the Armed Forces retains an exceptional photographic heritage. Since the origins of photography, the funds of the Establishment of Communication and Audiovisual Production of the Defense (ECPAD), the Museum of the Army and the Historical Service of the Defense, testify to the military fact, including contemporary conflicts. From 1st to 3 June 2027, this symposium aims to dialogue, discuss and put into perspective French and foreign experiences.

Comments:

France’s influence in the world is marked by inventions that are always permanent. The bicentenary of photography and its universal use will be commemorated at the international level. In this concert of celebrations, the French cultural influence (soft power) will not fail to manifest itself. The French institutions, and in particular the Defense Communication and Audiovisual Production Establishment (ECPAD), the Defense Historical Service and the Army Museum, will highlight the richness, diversity and plurality of their holdings and collections. Different, they are no less complementary. The welcome of foreign colleagues - curators, historians or directors - will be an opportunity for fruitful meetings and exchanges.

The patrimonial engineering and cultural expertise of staff with many and diverse specializations - archives and museums - are part of practices based on important and inalienable collections, from the museum room to the masses of archives. The know-how and the high skills that govern their enrichment, conservation and valorization, will be highlighted during the conference.

Design, organization:

The symposium is proposed by two academics, historians of photography:

- Françoise Denoyelle, ENS Louis-Lumière Distinguished University Professor, Associate researcher at the Centre d’Histoire Sociale des mondes contemporains (Université de Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne/CNRS), Author of thirty books, of which La photographie d’actualité et de propaganda sous le régime de Vichy (CNRS Editions, 2003), Arles, The Rencontres de la Photographie. 50 years of history (La Martinière, 2019), Photography agencies. A French story (Éditions de Juillet, 2023). Exhibition curator (BnF, Hôtel de Ville de Paris, Ministry of Culture ...). Contact : francoise-denoyelle@orange.fr

- Véronique Figini-Veron, Lecturer at ENS Louis-Lumière, Researcher at the Centre for Media Studies, Technology and Internationalization (CEMTI), Université Paris 8, Associate), expert at the Paris Court of Appeal. Search book : https://4p.hypotheses.org. Contact : v.figini@ens-louis-lumiere.fr

Steering Committee:

Defence Communications and Audiovisual Production Establishment (ECPAD): The Director, Monsieur Laurent Veyssière;

Army Museum: The Director, Major General (2S) Henry de Medlege;

Defence Historical Service: Chief of the Service, Madame Nadine Marienstras;

Françoise Denoyelle, Professor of Emeritus Universities;

Véronique Figini-Veron, lecturer at ENS Louis-Lumière.

Scientific Committee:

Tom Alberson, Reader in Media & Photographic History at the School of Journalism, Media and Culture (Cardiff University) and Director of Postgraduate Research.

Annette Becker, professor emeritus at université Paris-Nanterre, honorary senior member of the Institut universitaire de France.

Costanza Caraffa, Director of the Photo Library at Kunsthistorisches Institut de Florence.

Françoise Denoyelle, Professor of Emeritus Universities, ENS Louis-Lumière

Véronique Figini, Lecturer, ENS Louis-Lumière.

Thierry Gervais, Professor, Graduate Program Director, Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management.

Ulrich Pohlmann, director of the Munich Museum of Photography

Sylvie Thénault, history associate and research director at the CNRS, specialist in the Algerian War of Independence.