Crossing the missing fragment ”: BMW Art Makers reveals the new winner duo of its program, the artist Raphaëlle Peria and the curator Fanny Robin

An unprecedented artistic collaboration to explore new perspectives of the contemporary image +++ the artist Raphaëlle Peria and the curator Fanny Robin were chosen by the jury for their project “crossing the missing fragment”. +++ The winner duo benefits from financial support from BMW Group France, including a scholarship of 10,000 euros for the artist, 8,000 euros for the curator, as well as a research and production budget of 15,000 euros. +++ Their project will be presented at Arles Meetings in the summer of 2025, then in Paris Photo in November 2025, two major events of which BMW is proud to be an official partner. +++ With more than 180 applications, this fourth edition of the BMW Art Makers program met with great success, demonstrating the attraction and importance for artists and curators of this support for innovative artistic creation.

The artist Raphaëlle Peria and the curator Fanny Robin were appointed winners of the BMW Art Makers program to develop their project Crossing the missing fragment. This artistic project is a new experiment, the fruit of their collaboration, which will lead to an unprecedented exhibition. This exhibition will be presented as part of two major events in photography, namely the meetings of Arles and Paris Photo. This is part of longtime partnerships that BMW develops with these two unmissable events.

The jury was made up of Simon Baker, Director of the European Photography House, Florence Bourgeois, Director of Paris Photo, Andreina de Bei, Photo Director and Deputy Chief Editor of Sciences et Avenir, Hervé Digne, President of Poush-Manifesto, Chantal Nedjib, Image Founder by image, Christoph Wiesner, Director of Meetings of Arles and Maryse Bataillard, Head of Corporate Communication and BMW Group France.

The project, Crossing the missing fragment

For the BMW Art Makers program, the artist Raphaëlle Peria and the curator Fanny Robin, propose a project on the transformation of the territory.

From a childhood journey made by the artist on the Canal du Midi, marked by the image and the presence of the plane trees that border the canal and stabilize its banks, the artist returns to this site listed as a UNESCO heritage. The plane trees that chant the landscape has been affected since 2006 by a disease caused by a microscopic fungus, causing their decline.

Their absence will deeply modify the landscape.

With Crossing the missing fragmentthe artist Raphaëlle Peria, who compares his approach to that of an ecologist studying a landscape and its functioning, intends to immortalize this disappearance ecosystem by mixing personal archives and current photographs the surroundings of the canal.

These images are printed on large format glass plates, unprecedented in its artistic practice. Using a single engraving and scratch process, it merges photographs, drawings and engravings to illustrate the evolution of this landscape in order to preserve its memory.

Raphaëlle Peria and Fanny Robin said their appointment at the announcement : ” A huge thank you to the members of the jury of the BMW Art Makers program for their confidence in our project. This prize rewards our companionship started several years ago and will allow us to go further in the research and experimentation of new forms and new materials. This project, which we want unique and daring, and which will be thanks to the support and support of BMW teams, is a real opportunity to explore and engage in new directions.

With Crossing the missing fragment We invite spectators to experience a poetic breakaway, at the heart of the photographic image ”.

The BMW Art Makers program will make it possible to carry out this project. “” “We believe that the association of an artist and a curator is key to giving birth to major projects, from the first idea to the final work. We are convinced that the dialogue and diversity of perspectives are essential for creation and innovation. We leave total freedom of creation to artists, while bringing the artistic and technical expertise of our network. With the decisive support of the BMW Art Makers program, this ambitious project will be able to fully materialize and shine on the national and international artistic scene ” – Maryse Bataillard, head of corporate and CSR communication, BMW Group France.

Over 180 applications received for this new edition.

Each year, the projects received during the call for applications reflect the trends and subjects invested by the artists. Among more than 180 files submitted, the six finalist duos selected had to provide a note of intention, a budget, a realization calendar, a proposal for scenography and images of their previous work.

These projects presented revealed a wide variety of profiles and work, with 55% of mixed duets, 35% duets of women and 10% of duets of men.

58% of the duets were French, 42% were international, from more than 26 countries.

Several major trends have appearedreflecting current societal issues. Many proposals have addressed Environmental themes and to the ecological transition, inviting to contemplation and meditation on the relationship between man and nature.

Other projects have been interested in issues of post-colonialism, ethnography and cultural traditions threatened. The inclusion and visibility of minorities have also been treated, especially through the theme of migrants.

Finally, the scenographies revealed a strong trend towards immersive exhibitions, appealing to new technologies such as Artificial intelligence and augmented realityoften accompanied by sound or bright devices.

The first selection of projects was carried out by a pre-jury of visual arts professionals composed of Fabienne Bideaud, curator and art historian, Karin Hemar, creator and advice in creative strategy, co-president of the girls of the photo, Fabrice Laroche, referent professor in Gobelins, the Image School, Maud Prangey, Council in Images and Contemporary Art, and Maryse Bataillard, and CSR, BMW Group France.

The pre-jury allowed 6 duos nominated artists to be heard During an interview in front of the jury

• Raphaëlle Peria (artist), Fanny Robin (curator) with the project Crossing the missing fragment.
• Christian Vium (artist), Irene Campolmi (curator) with the project Unless the Miles Travelled Means Something More Than Journey.
• Constantin Schlachter (artist), Margot Nguyen (curator) with the project Polyphony of invisible.
• Haley Morris-Cafero (artist), Eva Eicker (curator) with the project What does an ideal employed look like?
• Sylvie Bonnot (artist), Marie Robert (Curatrice) with the project What if?
• Laure Winants (artist), Stéphanie Pécourt (curator) with the project Time Capsule II.

Laureates biographies

Raphaëlle Peria, artist.

Graduated in 2014 from the European School of Art in Brittany. In 2015, she was a finalist in the Revelations Emerige scholarship and in 2017 she produced her first personal exhibition at the Galerie Papillon, Paris.
In 2019 she was a resident artist of creation at Château Blanc in Flixecourt, concluded by the individual exhibition Narcissus in Flores.
In 2021, she participated in the Blooming exhibition organized at Domaine Pommery in Reims. In 2022, she participated in the exhibition Plural singularities :: Azul Andrea, Eva Jospin, Raphaëlle Peria, Christelle Téa at the Visitation Chapel-Contemporary Art Space, Thonon-les-Bains.

In 2024, she presented her personal exhibition Drifts of our informed dreams, Bullukian Foundation, Lyon. It is one of the public and private collections :: Frac Picardie, Museum of Fine Arts La Cohue, Thalie Foundation (BE).

Fanny Robin, curator.

Fanny Robin is art critic, artistic director of the Bullukian Foundation in Lyon and independent exhibition curator.
In 2018, she founded the festival First campaign which raises awareness of contemporary art and the promotion of heritage in rural areas, in particular through the reception of artists in residence and the implementation of exhibitions where local residents and actors are invited to take part in cultural projects.

Fanny Robin develops a curatorial and critical approach committed to the challenges of transmissions and relationships. She is particularly interested in artists who draw from the past (historical context, traditional gestures and techniques, popular traditions and material and intangible heritage, etc.) to question the news and our changing society.

BMW, 50 years of cultural commitment

For over 50 years, BMW Group has initiated and participated in hundreds of cultural collaborations in the world, guaranteeing an absolute freedom of creation to artists. The story started with the order of three works in Gerhard Richter for the siege of Munich, then continued in France in 1975 with the creation of the BMW Art Cars collection, “rolling works of art” designed by major artists like Alexander Calder, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Jeff Koons or more recently Julie Mehretu.

Exhibited in the biggest museums and cultural events, this unique collection embodies BMW’s long -standing commitment in patronage, at the service of a new artistic look and the hybridization of techniques, whether in contemporary art, music, architecture, design or photography.

In France, the BMW Art Makers program has supported artistic research and innovation for years, offering a duo artist and curator a freedom of experimentation and creation around major societal issues. The projects are then valued during international events such as Arles meetings, Paris Photo or Art Basel Paris.