Triennale Art & Industrie, Dunkerque, France
About the individual or institution nominating:
1) Name and Surname of the individual submitting the nomination:
Keren Detton
1.2) Institution submitting the nomination:
Frac Grand Large — Hauts-de-France
About the practice, project or institution nominated:
2) Name of the institution nominated:
Triennale Art & Industrie – Dunkerque / Hauts-de-France (FR)
2.2) Name of the director and email address of the institution nominated:
The co-directors of the Triennale Art & Industrie: Keren Detton (FRAC) and Sophie Warlop (LAAC)
2.3) Name of the institution, practice or project nominated:
«Triennale Art & Industrie – Dunkerque / Hauts-de-France» It was initiated by the FRAC Grand Large — Hauts-de-France and the LAAC — musée de France First edition in 2019: “Gigantism” was co-curated by Géraldine Gourbe, Keren Detton, Gregory Lang and Sophie Warlop. Second edition in 2023: “Chaleur humaine”, is co-curated by Anna Colin and Camille Richert with assistance of Henriette Gillerot.
3) Argue in one sentence why you think the project you nominate is outstanding and could serve as an example for the entire community of modern and contemporary art museums.
This event is a joint initiative of two museums in the same city bringing research on the history of modern and contemporary art public collections, in relation to industry and to art practices developed in Northern Europe and further. It is based on a shared governance and a collaborative process between the leading museums, public institutions, non-profit organizations as well as private partners and their communities. The triennial is acting as a catalyst to enrich each other with knowledge and more sustainable practices.
3) Description of the practice or project. (max. 500 words)
The Art & Industry Triennial digs into art collections, the ones of the FRAC and the LAAC as well as the CNAP and other public collections like the Centre Pompidou/MNAM. With its multi-disciplinary approach, it invites us to reflect on the past, present and future of our relationship with industry through the eyes of artists, designers, landscape artists and architects.
Art & Industry Triennale calls up a history of heavy post-war port and industrial activity that is now reinventing itself in a context of profound economic and ideological changes. Located in a geographical and cultural crossroads (United Kingdom, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany), the Triennale is part of a network of regional and European partners and pursues its artistic and poetic exploration of these encounters, combined with social, economic, and environmental issues.
Chosen curators are invited to devise a multi-layered project on a pre-determined theme:
- in 2019/2020 “Gigantism” emphasized the myriad connections between French and foreign art scenes from 1947 to 1989, and the period’s artistic and economic transformations. The FRAC explored gigantism as applied to the domestic sphere. The LAAC focused on processes preceding a work’s production, as well as on the influence and echoes of American creation. It evaluated our attraction for the great and grand, linked to a set of site-specific contemporary outdoor projects.
- in 2023/2024 “Chaleur humaine” focuses on the cross-border space around Dunkirk, ensuring a suitable sampling to observe and understand energy activities and environmental upheaval, and the way in which they affect art. It covers the period ranging from 1972 to the present day, marking the end of the post-war boom years and the dawn of an age of eco‑anxiety. The eight chapters, assembling 250 artworks from 130 artists, explore themes such as oil, nuclear energy, landscape transformation, the body at work, fatigue, cars, pollution, recycling, sustainability and the future.
The Triennial unfolds at the LAAC, the FRAC, the former AP2 shipyard workshop and other public spaces throughout the city of Dunkirk for a period of 7 months. It is constructed in keeping with the artwork and objects found in public collections and commissioned from artists from an array of backgrounds, restoring the balance and promoting parity and diversity.
Long-term projects are developed before, during and after each Triennial and weave closer ties with local people throughout the region: multiple “residencies” foster interaction, networking and solidarity between stakeholders in the spheres of education, knowledge, health and culture; displays of the collections in schools of the region aim to offer a common ground for educational experiences, “Idea Lab” is a collaborative project with associations raising public awareness to understand today’s environmental and climate challenges, “Parallel Screens” features special programs of fiction and documentary films accessible in cinemas and for publics in three different prisons of the regions.
The Triennial gathers more than 50 players of the regional cultural scene with a rich program of events and opening up unpredicted collaborations between different structures and consolidates a cultural network on a regional and European scale.
4) Images:
5) Provide links to the institution website as relevant support material: