More have been added to the growing list of exhibitors which is most pleasing. The Daguerre association president Marc Kereun has also expressed that he hopes all living daguerreians will submit plates for the exhibit – “even if the dags have been made 40 or 50 years ago..” So if you know where the likes of Gerald Meegan and other long lost Daguerreians are alert them to the occasion.

The list of exhibitors now stands at 12 and a deadline has been set for submitting images for the selection to be included on the poster – April 29th. Said poster will be posted here once finalised.

Below is the church of Bry-sur-Marne which where in 1842 Daguerre painted the diorama (35 m²) that is now the only one by him still extant. The extension of the church with skylights in the top was built to house it and at Daguerre’s direction. It is visible in the full plate view he took from his house not far from the church and which is now in the collection of SFP (Societé française de photographie).

The “Hôtel de Malestroit” is next door (on the left of the image) and will house the exhibition 170 years since the announcement to the world of the process.

Submissions so far for the exhibit in Bry are in the left hand column of this page, some of the images submitted are posted in the thread in the dagforum;

If you would like to be in for a chance to be on the exhibiton poster don’t delay as it will finalised soon. Also I posted the submission form as a non editable pdf (my bad) here is the amended form and also as a word document;

Form for submission of Daguerreotypes to the Exhibition (pdf)
Form for submission of Daguerreotypes to the Exhibition (word document)

Currently the Daguerre association is the process of preparing a exhibition poster for this years exhibit. If you are planning on submitting images for the exhibition I would urge you to send Marc Kereun images of your daguerreotypes now so that your presence may heralded on the poster. Even if by the end of the year your change your selection of images you at least have the chance to be advertised in advance on the poster. Send reproduction quality scans to : marc.kereun@wanadoo.fr

Other details are emerging of the exhibit in Bry, the exhibition space is 400 m² in “Hôtel de Malestroit”. The lighting is said to be very favorable, the walls in 5 rooms are in grey colour and “directional spots anti UV in low frequence”. There are also cabinets for cased or unframed works.

It is looking likely that Jerry Spagnoli will give a workshop there on the process with Marc Kereun translating for the non english speaking participants. The Daguerre association is hoping to draw together contemporary daguerreotypists from across Europe for the event as well around the world so CDags.org is endeavouring to facilitate that.

For more details on the Event see the recently updated Daguerre association website (current events section). Also the link at the top of left hand column on this page has been updated to include all past and future posts on the event. In the dagforum there is a thread where people can post images they are submitting for the poster/exhibit or discuss the event in detail

One of the biggest events in the contemporary daguerreian calendar in recent years is set for September 12 to October 18, 2009, in l’Hôtel de Malestroit building in Bry-sur-Marne, France.

From Marc Kereun, Curator of the exhibition;

“Since the invention of daguerreotype, multiple techniques have finally transformed the production of photography from argentic to digital technology. But despite the dominant position of digital photography, some contemporary daguerreotypists perpetrate the Art of Daguerre on the five continents. The subjects chosen by these artists come from very different inspiration landscape exploring the modern world but also the past. Therefore contemporary daguerreotypes regain interest in a world where virtual images prevail. The fact that it cannot be reproduced makes it today of piece of art when it was considered for some time as a handicap.
To celebrate the 170th anniversary of the disclosure of the daguerreotype technology, « Louis Daguerre, le Magicien de l’Image » Association and the Adrien Mentienne Museum in Bry-sur-Marne have organized a major exhibition of contemporary daguerreotypes made in recent years. Dedicated to a large audience who wait only to be surprised, this exhibition will show the diversity of themes explored by this medium as well as the finesse of the different artistic routes of theirs authors.
The exhibition will take place in Hôtel de Malestroit building in Bry-sur-Marne, nearby Paris, where Louis Daguerre lived from 1839 to his death in 1851.
If you are interested in participating, as daguerreotypist, to this exhibition planed from the September 12, to October 18, 2009, please send us back by email, the attached form.”

Click on the links below for the official call for submissions and the submission form:

Curatorial invitation (pdf)        Form for submission of Daguerreotypes to the Exhibition (pdf)
Form for submission of Daguerreotypes to the Exhibition (word document)

An opportunity for a gathering of Daguerreotypists and/or a Exhibition of contemporary daguerreotypes in the Daguerre’s town of Bry sur Marne presents itself on this the 170th year since the annoucement of the process.

Marc Kereun, president of the Daguerre Association of France has responded to the concept (see below) and we would like to hear your thoughts on it.

Even if you could not make the journey, would you be willing to submit Daguerreotype(s) for exhibiting in Bry?

The third week of September sounds like a good aim as it gives time for everyone to prepare for a trip or to ready material for an exhibition.

For those Daguerreotypists that do attend the opportunity presents itself here to organise a set up for producing Daguerreotypes at the event. Another idea is that workshops could be offered by those that do this on a regular basis.

Comments can be left here or in the Dagforum topic
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From Marc Kereun;
“The celebration of the annoucement of the daguerreotype process is a good opportunity to our Association “Louis Daguerre, le magicien de l’image” to remind of the genius of Daguerre, 170 years after. In 2001, we had contributed to the organization of exhibition on the work of Daguerre, on the occasion of the 150th birthday of its death in Bry.

Then, an exhibition of contemporary daguerreotypes gathering daguerreotypists authors in Bry would be a great event in the photographic agenda 2009.

The Association Louis Daguerre, with the collaboration of the Commune of Bry-sur-Marne, would be happy to study with you the organization of these cultural events.

For the date, it would be interesting to couple exhibition with event : ” les Journees du patrimoine ” (at about the 3rd weekend of September) during which the persons will be able to visit the workshop of restoration of the Diorama (1842) of Daguerre in Bry.”
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