Panorama 7 at Le Fresnoy: Philippe Dagen Curates Student Works

The seventh edition of Panorama, the annual exhibition of student works at Le Fresnoy – Studio national des arts contemporains, runs from June 2 to July 14, 2006. Curated by Philippe Dagen, a renowned art historian and critic for Le Monde, the exhibition is titled "Notre meilleur monde" (Our Best World). Unlike traditional curatorial roles, Dagen did not select works or define a theme in advance; instead, he advised students throughout the year and identified a unifying axis among the creations. The show features around fifty student-artists addressing themes from intimacy (Marie Hendriks, Antonia Fritche) to wandering (Nicolas Giraud), desire (Ana Maria Gomes), historical loss (Fanny Douarche's "Dialogue d'exilés" inspired by Brecht), and identity quests (Cléa Coudsi, Tami Notsani). Formal diversity is emphasized, with works ranging from Teboho Edkins' documentary on Gangsta culture to Céline Huyghebaert's filmed street surveillance of a New Yorker, Alejandro Moncada's video installation on power, and Olivier Perriquet's interactive piece on bodily balance. Dagen notes that students use advanced technologies to create personal, economically inefficient projects, favoring inventive image-making over normative writing. The exhibition also includes works by established artists Chantal Akerman, Catherine Ikam, and François Rouan. While some pieces rely on clichés or gadget-like technology, the overall show succeeds in reflecting contemporary art's irreducibility to dogma.