Exhibitions
With new vigour the Maison du Jeune Citoyen embarks on a project to promote civic commitment, for and with the young. On Friday 20 November, the International Day of Children’s Rights, the Maison du Jeune Citoyen organized the vernissage of its photographic exhibition Regards sur la paix (What does peace look like?) UPDATE 30 March 2016: A letter from Jean-Marie KUTNER, Mayor and Vice-president of the Eurometropolis of Strasbourg
At no 7, rue des Pompiers, dozens of people gathered to admire the different images the Maison du Jeune Citoyen had selected from the winning pictures of the Alfred Fried Photography Award. This competition, organized by publisher Edition Lammerhuber, aims to impart a world view of liberty and peace, whose defence will need strong commitment from the young. It couldn’t have been named after a better person than Austrian peace activist Alfred Fried, and peace has been the cornerstone of its activities from the start. Joëlle Gerber, coordinator of child care, and children and youth councillor, recalled what had allowed the exhibition to go ahead. “We approached Edition Lammerhuber for help and its founder, Lois Lammerhuber, reacted very quickly. He immediately had confidence in our project. And the presence of this internationally well-known photographer and editor in Schiltigheim, on Friday, is proof of his commitment to this project. His speech has captivated the public.” “Here, in this great house of youth, the exhibition makes much sense. The town has my respect and admiration for funding the project. What does peace represent? For me there is not one but many views of peace. The young are confronted with these issues of peace and it is important that this exhibition should be held here, at the Maison du Jeune Citoyen at Schilitgheim.” Pacifist and humanist values In a city of breweries, where the Children and Youth Council was founded in 1979, this civic action has found an ideal and predestined place to present these photographs. The walls of the Maison du Jeune Citoyen show images of tanks, devastated landscapes, but also of children, laughter, hope. These notions were reflected in the speech of mayor Jean-Marie Kutner. “Peace is a fragile thing that needs to be aspired to and cultivated. Striving for peace includes values such as tolerance, humanism, respect and courage. And, as Nelson Mandela has said, ‘I have learned that courage is not the absence of fear, but the ability to overcome it.’’ The next generations are going to grow up, develop and suffer in these times of fear, war and terror. The aim of the Maison du Jeune Citoyen is to encourage these pacifist and humanist values via the exhibition, in order to enhance the potential of the young, who embody the present and the future. The photographs perfectly capture the hope placed in the children to make the world a better place. A very fine ideal, which has yet to be turned from an utopia into a reality. A.BE. « REGARDS SUR LA PAIX » (What does Peace Look Like?) For the duration of the exhibition Regards sur la paix (What does Peace Look Like?), La Maison du Jeune Citoyen, 7 rue des Pompiers, Schiltigheim, plans several events. For instance, a weekly photo workshop Dire par l’image (Talking through images) for the 11-14 age group (Wednesday, free, registration required). From 15-19 February, a photography and fine arts workshop invites you to ‘imagine what the picture does not show’ via a visual creation lab (for the 8-11 age group, subject to a fee). Screenings with discussion are planned for: Wednesday 2 December at 4 p.m., showing the documentary Traces de guerre by Robin Hunzinger and Bruno Florentin ; Wednesday 20 January, at 4 p.m., showing the documentary Le cinéma des anges by Thierry Nutchey. Visit the exhibition on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.; Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 12 noon and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Closed over Christmas. The exhibition will run until 19 February. Free entry. Information and reservations: ✆ 03 88 83 84 80Dear Mr Lammerhuber,
on behalf of the city of Schiltigheim, I would like to thank you most heartily for your commitment to the creation of the photography exhibition Regards sur la paix.
This artistic and civic event, which reached an impressive number of citizens – children and youths as well as adults – would not have come into existence without your support and without the exceptional partnership of the Alfred Fried Photography Award.
I am particularly grateful to you for having accepted to trust in the citizen-based and pedagogical approach of the Maison du jeune citoyen, so that this project could achieve a quality level worthy of the cause we stand for: coexistence and peace.
Once again, please accept my cordial thanks.
Jean-Marie KUTNER
Mayor
Vice-president of the
Eurometropolis of Strasbourg