The history of representations is marked, if not by ruptures, at least by mutations. The one experienced by the very young medium of photography has been dazzling. Born barely 180 years ago, photography was the medium that, because of its mechanical nature, accompanied the industrial revolution. From the first self-portrait by Hippolyte Bayard to the business card portraits of Eugène Disdéri, it took barely 15 years. This double inscription, in the artistic field and in what we would call today the mass media, is constitutive of photography.

The Centre photographique Rouen Normandie wishes to play a role in this respect, both as a scout and as a decipherer.

The first circle of intervention is the exhibition space, in order to make the physical dimension of photography known, and to get it out of the shapeless flow of images, without context, without choice, without size, without consistency.

The team at the Centre photographique Rouen Normandie is developing a series of cultural activities around its exhibitions, particularly for schools. Within this framework, it organises guided tours for groups ranging from nursery school to higher education. Each visit can be followed by an artistic practice or image analysis workshop, proposed in resonance with the artistic, historical and sociological issues of the works on display.

In order to increase the number of encounters with school groups, the Photographic Centre can, depending on the year, take part in schemes such as the CTEJ (Culture Territoire Enfance Jeunesse / City of Rouen), the CRED (Contrat de Réussite Éducative Départemental / Department of Seine-Maritime), Triptyques (Region and DRAC of Normandy), or even twinning-residencies with agricultural high schools.

For the year 2019-2020, the Photographic Centre is working, for example, with the André Pottier, Jean Mullot, Marie Houdemare and Rosa Parks primary schools (CTEJ), the Gilbert Martin vocational agricultural high school in Le Neubourg (Triptyques), the high school for the wood and eco-construction trades in Envermeu (twinning-residency with Damien Poulain), or the agricultural and agri-food high school in Yvetot (twinning-residency with Cécile Hesse and Gaël Romier), among others.

In addition, to encourage and prepare for these encounters, academic training sessions are organised about twice a year in collaboration with the academic officer in charge of visual arts at the Rectorat de Rouen. These training sessions may deal with a part of the history of photography and/or the work of an exhibited artist, and offer teachers teaching ideas in connection with the exhibitions, but also with themes such as image analysis and awareness of media images.

Visits and workshops are also offered to groups outside the school environment, particularly in connection with day centres, medical-educational institutes, prisons and leisure centres. These meetings are prepared with the teams of each establishment to adapt to the pathways of the children, teenagers and adults they receive or meet. They can therefore fit into the cultural calendar of the establishments, but also take into account the medical or judicial specificities of the participants.

INFORMATION AND RESERVATIONS FOR SPECIFIC MEDIATIONS
To organise a visit or a workshop visit, or to receive the newsletter for teachers and educators, please contact us at info@centrephotographique.com or 02 35 89 36 96.

CULTURAL PROGRAMMING FOR ALL AUDIENCES
Find out about the cultural programme offered by the Rouen Normandy Photographic Centre for the general public (excluding specific mediation), by consulting the Events tab