Le Fresnoy – Studio national des arts contemporains

Le Fresnoy – Studio national des arts contemporains

Located in Tourcoing, in the Lille metropolitan area, Le Fresnoy is a unique institution in the French landscape: it is not a classic art school, but a post-diplôme that welcomes artists who are already trained (art schools, film schools, university, conservatories) or who have professional practice experience. The course, short and intensive, is organized around the production of works rather than academic teaching.

The place was founded on the initiative of filmmaker and visual artist Alain Fleischer, who long served as its director, in a building designed by architect Bernard Tschumi around a former leisure complex.

Disciplines and strengths

• Moving image: cinema, documentary, video, artists' films.
• Digital arts, installation, sound, performance, hybrid forms between art and technology.
• A model based on the mentoring of projects by guest artists renewed each year, in dialogue with professional technical teams (filming, post-production, sound, interactive devices).
• Production resources comparable to those of a studio, which clearly distinguishes Le Fresnoy from initial training programs.

The works produced are presented at the annual exhibition Panorama, and circulate widely in festivals, biennials and institutions. Le Fresnoy also develops a public activity of film programming and exhibitions.

Among the artists who have passed through the Studio national are notably Clément Cogitore and Neïl Beloufa.

Intended for candidates who already have a strong artistic project.