Students from the Faculty of Science at the Montpellier Photography Festival
Boutographies is back for 3 weeks of exhibitions. You'll find photographs from all over the world...and poems written by scientists. Proof that science and art are never far apart. Curious? Follow the guide.
Saturday May 4 saw the opening of the Boutographies photography festival in Montpellier. More than 550 photographers from 34 different countries put down their suitcases, and above all their pictures, in 15 Montpellier locations. This huge gathering, whose heart is at the Pavillon Populaire, attracted almost 18,000 visitors last year. Enough to make your head spin. S.C.R.I.B.E.S, the student association of the University of Montpellier, is renewing its partnership for a second year, by writing texts in resonance with the work of the carte blanche photographer of this 2024 edition.
What is this festival?
The Boutographies festival has been taking place in the city for over 20 years, and has become "an essential date in Montpellier's artistic and cultural season", as Michaël Delafosse - Mayor of Montpellier - wrote in the editorial of the festival program. First established in the Boutonnet district, whose contraction gives the event its name, it is an annual opportunity to showcase new European photography. All European photographers and those living in Europe can submit their work, and a call for entries is launched every year. After an initial screening by the association, followed by a choice by an independent jury, the official selection is made.
Every year, Les Boutographies showcases photographic art in a variety of venues, challenging our convictions. This effervescence is made possible by the fruitful collaboration of 43 partners, including the Metropole de Montpellier and the Département de l'Hérault, who provide financial support along with 9 sponsorships.
A collaboration with Scribes
Last year, Christian Maccotta - artistic director of Les Boutographies - had already turned to this strange student association from Montpellier: S.C.R.I.B.E.S - Salon de Création Récréative et d'Initiation Bienveillante à l'Écriture par les Scientifiques. A fruitful first collaboration, as the participating students - the Scribes - were able to work on the photographic art of Camilla de Maffei - author of the Carte blanche for the 2023 edition. Coordinated by Sonia Chalbi - a professor at Montpellier's Faculty of Science - the scientists were able to exhibit their texts alongside Camilla de Maffei's photographs. This year, they turned their attention to the Je crois aux Nuits series by Pierre Liebaert - author of Carte Blanche 2024. This work, already spotted and awarded at Boutographies in 2012 and 2016, gave rise this year to eleven poems, each different from the next in style and form.
- author Carte Blanche 2024 -
If you missed the chance to write with Les Scribes about the work of Pierre Liebaert, you can join the association, which offers creative writing workshops every Wednesday. The only condition is that you must be a student at Montpellier University. S.C.R.I.B.E.S has other tricks up its sleeve, and is planning new projects for the new school year, so stay tuned. We hope that our partnership with the festival will continue to strengthen the link between art and science.
Les Boutographies is a pharaonic event that runs until May 26, 2024, giving you plenty of time to enjoy the works of photographers and scientific scribes who play with words.
To follow S.C.R.I.B.E.S: Instagram @scribes_um
For more information on the Boutographies festival: Instagram @les_boutographies and website https://www.boutographies.com
Article written by Nafi Terrasse, FdS Mediaccess Master's student