Des visiteurs devant les oeuvres lors du vernissage de l'exposition "Chercher la lumière" au Centre d'Arts Ronzier - Service communication ISH

Training

Exhibition "In Search of Light" by students in the Master's program in Curatorial Studies

Students in the UPHF’s Master’s program in Curatorial Studies designed a group exhibition on view at the UPHF Arts Center from March 13 to May 13, 2026

An Educational and Artistic Project

First- and second-year students in the Master's program in Curatorial Studies, guided by their instructors (Ludovic Berhardt, Christian Hanquet, Nicolas Devigne, and Henri Duhamel), have been working together all year to develop Chercher la lumière, a major exhibition on view at the UPHF Arts Center from March 13 to May 13, 2026.

Seeking the Light

This exhibition presents dialogues between contemporary artworks and objects, works, or archival materials from private collections, exploring the following themes: hiding, revealing, bringing to light, seeing the dark, and seeing beyond. A journey unfolds through the galleries, beginning with light and ending in darkness at the conclusion of the visit. This journey is at once scientific, metaphorical, and spiritual. It explores the interplay between the visible and the invisible, challenging our perceptions. The exhibition is deliberately hybrid, bringing together aesthetic, historical, ecological, and anthropological approaches.

Cross-sector partnerships

This exhibition was produced in partnership with L’H du Siège (a contemporary art center of national interest in Valenciennes), the Valenciennes Museum of Fine Arts and the Friends of the Museum, and organized with the support of the UPHF’s cultural services and the ISH. It featured works by Mélanie Berger, Natalia Jaime-Cortez, Jorge Daniel Junco, Stéphanie Mansy, Frédéric Messager, and the FRAC Lorraine, as well as loans from private collections and student works by Johann Bonilla, Dorjkhand Davaa, and Louis Debailleul.

A Professional Development Project

As part of the Master’s in Curatorial Studies, this project is designed to prepare students for professional practice. The goal is to provide hands-on experience with every stage of exhibition development, from start to finish. Students from both cohorts were thus responsible for curatorial tasks (concept development, selection of works, contact with artists...), production (budget, insurance, logistics, orders...), exhibition design (zoning, construction of display structures and pedestals, etc.), public engagement (writing the catalog, leading tours, programming, etc.), and communication (visual identity, posters, labels, flyers, social media, etc.).

Since September 2025, the year has been punctuated by brainstorming sessions, meetings with the artists, and workshops on exhibition management and public engagement (at the L’H art center at the headquarters), leading up to the installation of the exhibition, followed by hosting numerous groups for tours as well as organizing lectures, two performances, and artistic practice workshops. Throughout its run, the exhibition welcomed 660 people.

A look back at the highlights of this year, which was full of hard work and unexpected twists and turns.

Cours de TD en vue de la préparation de l'exposition "Chercher la lumière" au Centre d'Arts Ronzier - Service communication ISH

Les étudiants en pleine préparation de l'exposition "Chercher la lumière" au Centre d'Arts Ronzier - Service communication ISH

Une étudiante dresse le rétro-planning de la conception de l'exposition "Chercher la lumière" au Centre d'Arts Ronzier - Service communication ISH

Les étudiants, enseignants et partenaires en pleine préparation de l'exposition "Chercher la lumière" au Centre d'Arts Ronzier - Service communication ISH