Louis Stern Fine Arts

As part of a cross-cultural educational and art project, eight U.S. college students were flown to Europe where they photographed their experience of modern French life. They will now have the privilege of seeing their work used in a major French tourism advertising campaign created by France's national tourist office, Maison de la France.

The innovative project, called Jeunes Talents ("young talents") is intended to capture the spirit of modern France through the eyes of a new generation of American artists. In addition to the planned tourism campaign, photographs will be on view at Louis Stern Fine Arts, 9002 Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood, in an exhibition also titled Jeunes Talents.

Participating colleges include three in Los Angeles, California and one in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are Art Center College of Design, California Institute of the Arts and Otis College of Art and Design in the Los Angeles region, and Loyola University in New Orleans. The program is a joint initiative of Maison de la France and French Cultural Services in Los Angeles. Other partners include Air Tahiti Nui, Rail Europe and France Los Angeles Exchange (FLAX), a Los Angeles foundation dedicated to fostering a better understanding of France through public and cultural art events.

"Jeunes Talents is a unique opportunity to open the boundaries of art, creativity and cultural exchange," states Yann Perreau, Deputy Cultural Attaché, Los Angeles. "Take eight talented young American photographers. Put them in an unknown environment, such as a French city with its own traditions and culture. Add key actors in the contemporary photography art scene, such as top art colleges in the U.S., and mix this with a famous gallery known for challenging photography, such as Louis Stern Fine Arts. The result is one of the most exciting, inventive and challenging art concepts to date. Cultural Services of the French Embassy is proud to be part of this project along with its partners."

The cities and their assigned photographers are:

Antibes-Juan-les-Pins, a 2,500 year-old gem on the Mediterranean coast that boasts Europe's largest marina and a stellar mix of artists, playboys and American émigrés who settled there in the roaring twenties. Today, it sits at the heart of France's Silicon Valley.
· Esther Murphy, Loyola University, New Orleans
· Gillian Dicker, Loyola University, New Orleans

Biarritz, on the Atlantic coast, was transformed in the 19th Century by Empress Eugenie from a small fishing harbor into a sophisticated seaside resort, and is today Europe's surf capital.
· Amanda Keller Konya, Otis College of Art and Design,
Los Angeles
· Alejandro Sanchez, California Institute of the Arts,
Los Angeles

Lyon, in central France, is the country's second largest city. Today, as capital of the Burgundy region and internationally famous for its Michelin-starred restaurants, famous chefs, stylish brasseries and art de vivre, it is now a major industrial and cultural center.
· Spencer Lowell, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena

Montpellier, capital of Languedoc-Roussillon in Southern France, straddles Catalan and French cultures and boasts 300 days of sunshine per year. Once home to Nostradamus, it is today a major industrial center with a lively cultural scene.
· Tasha Moore, Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles
· Justine Maccario, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena
· Allison Boggle, California Institute of the Arts, Los Angeles