Explore the exhibition of photographs by Michel Medinger, winner of the Luxembourg Photography Award 2024. Two photographic series are showcased at Merl Park, providing a capivating glimpse into his artistic prowess.

         —     About the exhibition

At Merl Park, visitors can enjoy two of his photographic series: “Petrol Pumps” and “Sports Objects”, the latter reflecting Michel Medinger’s lifelong passion for sports; in his youth, he took part in the track and field competition at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 1964. This series is very topical in light of this summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris.

Petrol Pumps

Abandoned petrol pumps, photographed in the 1980s and 1990s, are the focus of this photo series by Michel Medinger. Although these old petrol pumps are gradually disappearing, they can still occasionally be found in villages across Luxembourg and the Greater Region. Despite their outdated appearance, they blend into modern environments. With his keen eye, Michel Medinger captures this contrast in a way that feels harmonious, evoking a sense of nostalgia in viewers.

Sports Objects

The “Sports Objects” series, which comprises more recent work from the 2010s, showcases Michel Medinger’s dual passion for sports and photography. He emphasises the sculptural nature of the sports objects through strategic lighting, revealing their traces of wear and tear, and pinpointing the stories they hold. Many items he photographed belonged to professional athletes, such as Charly Gaul’s saddle and Josy Barthel’s track spikes. Just like in his series “Having fun” (“S’amuser”), these pieces show how much the artist enjoys playing with compositions and humanising the objects of his daily life, while at the same time making allusions to art history.

A second exhibition by Michel Medinger will be on show at the same time in the gardens of the Hospice Civil de Hamm in Luxembourg City.

         —     About Michel Medinger

Michel Medinger, the Luxembourg photographer, was born in Neudorf (Luxembourg City) in 1941. He is celebrated for his many photographic series, particularly his black and white still life series. As a self-taught photographer and avid collector of objects, he has experimented with a variety of photographic techniques, including black and white photography, cibachrome, and polaroids. By combining these techniques with his passion for painting – which was the first art form he fell in love with – Michel Medinger has developed a unique style of staging objects from his collection in the form of still lives, reminiscent of the curiosity cabinets from the 16th century.

The artist infuses his works with a subtle sense of humour; tackling themes such as the ephemeral, vanity, human fragility, and eroticism. He draws inspiration from the iconography of 17th-century Dutch Golden Age paintings, notably by Rembrandt van Rijn and Frans Hals.

Michel Medinger has exhibited his photographs all over the world, from Luxembourg, France, Denmark, Poland, and the United States to Japan and China.

From 1 July to 29 September 2024, a major exhibition dedicated to his oeuvre and curated by Sylvie Meunier is being put on by Lët’z Arles at the Chapelle de la Charité, as part of the famous “Rencontres de la photographie d’Arles” festival. A new book is being published to mark this occasion.

      Find out more about the 70th anniversary cultural events in this year of celebrations.

         —     The Cultural Agreement

On 8 February 1954, the Cultural Agreement between the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the French Republic was signed. This has led to a considerable development of cultural relations between Luxembourg and France, and has given rise to fruitful cooperation between the two countries’ cultural institutions in all areas (performing arts, art, audiovisual, heritage, etc.).

The signing of this agreement was commemorated at a reception held at the Residence of France, at the invitation of Claire Lignières-Counathe, the French Ambassador to Luxembourg, and in the presence of the Minister for Culture, Eric Thill.

         —     Cultural events calendar

This 70th anniversary is an opportunity to further strengthen the links between the two countries by promoting new forms of cooperation, focusing on young artists and creators, consolidating the very close cross-border relations and labelling a series of cultural events throughout 2024.

      A joyous musical revolution is about to take over neimënster for the 4th year running! The Institut français du Luxembourg, with the support of the Association Victor Hugo, invites you to discover the show Les Basketteuses de Bamako!

         —     Big Bang Festival

The Big Bang Festival will open the doors to an explosive journey of sound, taking young and old alike on a unique musical adventure.

For one day, the abbey will be transformed into a gigantic laboratory of sound experimentation, accessible to all ages from 5 upwards, offering a vibrant kaleidoscope of musical creations. From singing to brass bands, interactive shows, sound installations and other swirling surprises, the day promises to be an unforgettable experience.

         —     Les Basketteuses de Bamako

“After the creation of Maputo-Mozambique, I want to return to Africa and experience its gestures and musicality.

The plan is to create an artistic piece based on what I see as heterogeneous practices (sport and juggling-dance-music); to play with the qualities of Malian women basketball players and their sense of music, song and dance, and then to create a piece of juggling-music from that.”

Thomas Guérineau

      The winners received their prizes on Wednesday 27 March at the Résidence de France!

         —     Awards ceremony of Prix Victor Hugo de la Francophonie 2024

For this 6th edition of the Prix Victor Hugo de la Francophonie, more than 75 budding writers were inspired by this year’s theme, based around the vocabulary of sport and its values, as part of the Paris 2024 Games!

The Prix Victor Hugo de la Francophonie was a competition for the best text in French, based on the 10 words of the “Dis-moi dix mots” operation, organised each year by the French Ministries of Culture and Education. Participants were invited to use the following words in their compositions: adrénaline ; aller aux oranges ; champion; collectif ; échappée ; faux départ; hors-jeu ; prouesse ; mental ; s’encorder !

This year’s eighteen winners, twelve prizes and three special mentions for the ‘lycée’ category and two prizes and one special mention for the ‘higher education’ category, received their prizes at a ceremony at the Résidence de France, in the presence of the French Ambassador, Claire LIGNIERES-COUNATHE, the Director of the Institut français du Luxembourg, Maxime Dafri, the co-presidents of the jury, Jean Portante and Ian de Toffoli, and the sponsors of the prize.

This literary production competition is being organised as part of the Mois de la Francophonie by the Institut français du Luxembourg and the French Embassy in Luxembourg, in partnership with the Association Victor Hugo, the Association des Professeurs de Français au Luxembourg, the Luxembourg Embassy in France and with the support of Mansart S.A.