Alliance Française Rio de Janeiro reopens its gallery with photo exhibition “Fronteiras”

Result of the 9th Prix Photo Aliança Francesa – the exhibition will be open for visitation until 15 September at the Alliance Française Gallery Rio de Janeiro.

Among the photographers participating in the show are: Osmar Gonçalves dos Reis Filho (Fortress, EC – 1th place) with the series “The Survival of Fireflies”; Kitty Paranaguá (Rio de Janeiro, RJ – 2nd place) with the series “Tempo Presente” and Luiz Baltar (Rio de Janeiro, RJ), honorable mention with the essay “Favelicidade”.

The Alliance Française Rio de Janeiro presents de 28 July to 15 September, the group exhibition Borders – 9º Prix Photo Aliança Francesa, that brings together the 30 photographs awarded by the official jury in the edition 2019 the contest. The show is held by OF Rio, with support from Air France and Hotel Santa Teresa and MGallery.

The Prix ​​Photo Alliance Française is a national photography competition open to all photographers, professionals and amateurs, that seek to value original artistic proposals, experimental, are abstract or documentary, and that can offer a different look.

With each edition the prize suggests a current topic, that represent an echo of the great questions of our time. In its 9th edition, under the theme Borders, the contest received more than 200 portfolios of registered participants. The winner of the official jury of this edition was Ceará, Osmar Gonçalves dos Reis Filho (Fortress, EC) with the series "Survival of the Fireflies", who won a trip to Paris with a companion. Second place went to Rio Kitty Paranaguá with the series "Present tense". In addition to the two finishers, The assay is highlighted "Favelicidade", Luiz Baltar (Rio de Janeiro, RJ), to which it has been given a special mention.

Due to the current Covid-19 pandemic and the safety recommendations of the health authorities and the WHO, to traditional traveling exhibition by the French Alliances of Brazil could not be performed in person in 2020, being created a virtual exhibition, still available at www.prixphotoaf.com.br. In this, in addition to the photographs, the visitor will also have access to the photographers' audios with commentary on the award-winning portfolios, produced for the virtual exhibition, through QR codes available in the gallery.

Face-to-face visits will be held two times a day: from 10 am to 11 am and from 2 pm to 3 pm, from Monday to Friday, with the maximum of 5 people by time. Tickets will be available through the SYMPLA platform until half an hour after the start of the visit, that cannot go beyond the pre-set time. To enter the gallery, visitors must observe the safety protocols of the city of Rio de Janeiro, such as the use of masks covering the nose and mouth and the distance of 2m between people. Body temperature will be checked upon arrival, and the reception professional will be responsible for releasing the entry in accordance with the criteria established by the municipal government, even if the visitor has booked tickets in advance. Gel alcohol will be available to visitors at the entrance.

About the series presented in the exhibition

The test "Survival of the Fireflies", Osmar Gonçalves dos Reis Filho (Fortress, EC), First official jury, discusses the limits of borders on the streets of Latin American cities, photographed at night. According to the author, "I'm surprised with the large number of street populating the squares, occupying the sidewalks, disputing the corners each vacant cm. Wrapped in gloom, they emerge as fireflies, as small luminescent beings, erratic that, through their nomadic gestures, They claim other modes of understanding the city, other ways of living and practicing the urban space. ”

The test "Present tense", Kitty Paranaguá (Rio de Janeiro, RJ), Second official jury, It brings up a poetic view of the subject. According to the author, "The project focus is the man clash, architecture, border, nature and all the drama and poetry that surround this struggle ”. The consequences of climate change, the result of man's intervention in nature, create a metaphor with reality of today.

In addition to the two finishers, The assay is highlighted "Favelicidade", Luiz Baltar (Rio de Janeiro, RJ), to which it has been given a special mention. The photographer documents the construction of landscapes, social and political, based on personal and collective memories of the daily life of the favelas of Rio de Janeiro and "invisible borders of a divided city".

About the Alliance Française

Completing 136 years of activities in Brazil, the French Alliance is a reference in the language and, no doubt, the best-known institution in the world, when it comes to the spread of the French language and Francophone cultures. Has, currently, more than 830 units 132 countries, where they study about 500.000 students. In France, it has schools and cultural centers for foreign students. Brazil has the world's largest network of French Alliances with 37 associations and 68 units.

It is the only institution in Brazil authorized by the Embassy of France, to apply the tests that give access to international diplomas DELF and DALF, recognized by the French Ministry of National Education. The Alliance Française is also official examination centre for international testing validity of two years TCF (The French Knowledge Test) TEF and Canadian (French Assessment Test) and the national test valid for one year Capes (recognized by agencies CAPES and CNPq MEC).

This year, in celebration of its 135th anniversary, the French Alliance will have lot of news. Amongst them, the change in teaching method, that will bring greater dynamism to the classrooms, with digital tools and current content on all French-speaking culture, transforming lessons into real centers of debate of ideas and collaborative learning.