Contemporary Talents

Water-Wattwiller

Inaugurated in 2013 in the former bottling plant of the Wattwiller springs, the François Schneider Foundation’s Art Centre is a unique venue entirely dedicated to the theme of water. Every year, through temporary exhibitions and cultural projects, this vital element is explored across all its facets: artistic, poetic, aesthetic, geographic, political, and scientific.

Since its launch in 2011, the Contemporary Talents competition dedicated to the theme of water has honored numerous international artists, thereby building a singular and highly original institutional collection of contemporary art.

• View the collection

The competition is open to visual artists of all nationalities who are of legal age.

• Profile: Applicants must demonstrate a solid professional artistic background and/or hold a degree from an art school. To be eligible, candidates must provide evidence of a recent and continuous track record over the past five years through several exhibitions (solo and/or group), publications (monographs, catalogues), or artist residencies.

• Eligible Disciplines: Painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, photography, video, textile art, or any other form of fine and visual arts. Note: Performing arts and music are not accepted.

• Artwork Specifications: The submitted artwork (whether it consists of a single piece or a body of work) must focus exclusively on the theme of water. Each candidate may submit only one artwork or project per year.

Existing Artwork / Project to be Produced:

• Existing Artworks (All disciplines): For painting, drawing, photography, video, textile art, as well as completed sculptures and installations (unique pieces), only the existing artwork can be submitted. No additional production budget will be allocated for these proposals.

• Creative Projects (Sculpture and Installation only): Artists working in sculpture or installation have the specific option to apply either with an existing artwork or with a project proposal to be produced. In this second case only, a detailed production budget may be allocated, up to a maximum of €50,000.

• Multiple Artworks (Editions): The submitted artwork may be part of a limited edition series for video and photography. If the proposed artwork includes multiple editions, the final grant structure differs and is reduced to €8,000.

Artists are invited to submit their proposals based on the theme of water—whether realistic or utopian, figurative or abstract—by bringing a unique and sensitive perspective to this subject.

Selection of Artworks and Projects
Four Expert Committees and an International Grand Jury will convene successively:

The Expert Committees
Four expert committees, composed of gallerists, art critics, curators, and past competition winners, form pairs to review 200 applications each and shortlist the finalists. The roughly thirty finalist applications are then presented to the Grand Jury.

The International Grand Jury
Chaired by Jean-Noël Jeanneney, this Jury will select 4 to 7 “Contemporary Talents” laureates from among the thirty finalists. Their artworks will be acquired by the Foundation.

• Jean-Noël Jeanneney, Former President of Radio France, former Secretary of State, and former President of the Bibliothèque nationale de France – Paris (France)
• Constance de Monbrison, Head of the Insulinde Collections, Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac – Paris (France)
• Alfred Pacquement, Honorary General Curator of Heritage – Paris (France)
• Ernest Pignon-Ernest, Artist – Paris (France)
• Roland Wetzel, Director of the Museum Tinguely – Basel (Switzerland)
• Rosa Maria Malet, Director of the Fundació Joan Miró from 1980 to 2017, Member of the Board of Directors of the Fundació Miró – Barcelona (Spain)
• Chiara Parisi, Director of Centre Pompidou-Metz (France)

NB: The composition of the expert committees and the Grand Jury is subject to change based on member availability.

• September to November: Online call for applications period.
• December to February: Review of applications and shortlisting of approximately thirty finalists by the Expert Committees.
• March: Official announcement of the finalist artists.
• May/June: Deliberations of the International Grand Jury and announcement of the winners.
• Autumn (Year N+1): Major group exhibition of the winners at the Wattwiller Art Centre, featuring video portraits of the laureates.

For each edition, the International Grand Jury designates a maximum of 7 laureates.

• Each winner receives a grant of €15,000 as a merit-based prize and for the official acquisition of their artwork, which then joins the collection of the François Schneider Foundation. (In the case of photographic or video works involving multiple editions, the grant is fixed at €8,000).
• The Foundation covers all costs related to the production of the winners’ exhibition at the Wattwiller Art Centre (see rules and regulations).

Participation in the competition can only be done electronically after registering on the François Schneider Foundation website by clicking the Individual registration or Collective registration buttons at the top of this page.

Applications must be written in French for French-speaking candidates and in English for all other candidates.

Applications must strictly include:

Administrative Section

• Registration form and signed, approved Rules and Regulations (PDF format).
• A copy of your valid ID (recto/verso ID card or passport) (PDF format).

Artistic Section (Completed artwork or project to be produced, sculpture or installation)

• Your CV and/or a presentation of the artists’ collective, demonstrating a professional artistic background (work recently exhibited in institutions, galleries, festivals, etc., or participation in artist residencies) (PDF format, maximum 2 pages).
• Your portfolio/artistic dossier presenting an overview of your work (PDF format, maximum 20 A4 pages, maximum 30 MB).
• A statement of intent presenting the artwork or project and the artist’s conceptual and creative approach for the competition (PDF format, maximum 2 pages).
• A detailed technical specification sheet of the existing artwork or project (sculptures, installations), indicating title, materials, technique, dimensions, weight, constraints, and technical means required for exhibition, installation, or transport (PDF format, maximum 1 page).
• A detailed production budget up to a maximum of €50,000 for artworks submitted as project proposals for sculptures and installations (PDF format).
• 3 to 5 color visuals (photo, drawing, diagram, 3D modeling, floor plan, etc.) (JPG format, maximum 5 MB per visual).
• A video excerpt for video works. Video footage may also be attached for other types of artwork (painting, sculpture, etc.) to contextualize them (MOV/MP4 format, maximum 4 GB).

NB: The jury will particularly appreciate clear, concise applications and proposals that align cohesively with the collection of the François Schneider Foundation.

Incomplete applications or those failing to comply with the above instructions will not be submitted to the Expert Committees or the International Grand Jury.

In the event of technical difficulties related to the internet connection, candidates should contact the Organizer as soon as possible. We strongly encourage you to submit your application well in advance to avoid server slowdowns that could prevent your submission from reaching us on time.

IMPORTANT: Under no circumstances should the submitted artworks be designed with the intention of being permanently installed at the Foundation.

Call for Applications
Rules and Regulations
All Editions