Stamminee: Luxembourg's image

The forum of contemporary art, Casino Luxembourg, organises a sort of round table on various subjects which they call Stamminee.

Stamminee is a Luxembourgish word meaning 'table of regulars' (in a pub), and by extension the regulars themselves.

This month's Stamminee was on the subject of nation branding and on Luxembourg's image in particular.

The guests were people active in the art and culture scene, business promotion, nation branding, as well as civil servants from the Ministry of Culture and Ministry of the Economy.

I actually went to provide moral support to a friend of mine, one of the representatives of the business aspect of the subject. I had to smile when she said she was not the Antichrist when she introduced herself to a crowd mainly composed of people who believe that culture and business cannot work together.

my notes from the Stamminee

The main ideas that I found interesting during the exchange were:

The fact that Luxembourgish people are not proud of their culture and history, so how can they convey an image of Luxembourg other than that of a tax haven?

There is even a sense of shame for what Luxembourg is and a defensive stance ('We are not just a tax haven!'), instead of a more positive proposal to describe the country.

It is important to work on the country's image at home first, so it can improve abroad.

Questions like Who are we? and What do we want? must be answered before any efficient nation branding strategy can be developed.

On a more positive ending, it was noted that people who have been to Luxembourg usually like it, find the population friendly and leave with a very different impression of the country.

Baroque in cinema

For the fourth year running, the Cinémathèque in Luxembourg organises a crash course on cinema in collaboration with the University.

Every month, a different specialist holds a conference, which is then followed by a movie relevant to the content of the speach.

This year the theme is about the different styles in movie making.

Last week it was Hervé Aubron, a film critic and professor of the Université Paris III, who came to talk to us about Baroque.

These sessions are always full and I always have to be there at least half an hour early, so I get plenty of time to sketch.

I have to admit that this doesn't really look like Mr Aubron, but I got to try out a different way of sketching and taking notes.

Looking forward to the next month's session on Naturalism!

Le Baroque au cinéma

Photomeetings Luxembourg - impressions

Photomeetings Luxembourg has started this week until the 19th.

It is a great occasion to discover the work and hear the insights of well-known photographers.

These last three days I was able to attend conferences held by Roger Ballen, Isabel Muñoz and Massimo Vitali.

Here are some of their comments.

Roger Ballen

Roger Ballen appeared quite gloomy to me. Very dark and meticulous with a dark sense of humour.

Isabel Muñoz

Isabel Muñoz is a true humanist, in my definition of the term. Very caring and loving. And more essentially, someone who loves and is fascinated by humanity in all its manifestations.

Massimo Vitali

Massimo Vitali seems very technically rigorous. It was interesting to hear his opinions on the place of photography in the art scene.

These lectures allowed me not only to discover these artists' work, but also to understand it in a different level.

It became very clear to me that each one of these photographers' work reflects their personality and beliefs. It may sound like a very obvious thing to say, but now it feels like I can see them when I look at their photographs.