Context and challenges:

Liberty Specialty Markets, an insurance company, aims to support emerging artists through the Liberty Art Award, a program dedicated to emerging photographers since 2021 (after a 2020 edition devoted to digital art). Each year, the company invites young photographers (at school or in the process of professionalization) to create a work based on a key theme for the company: risk in 2021–2022, environmental issues in 2022–2023, and the passage of time in 2023–2024. The winner of the competition receives a €3,000 prize and an article in Le Quotidien de l’Art. The competition took place in several phases: pre-selection of ten artists, popular vote on social networks for the designation of three finalists, organization of a final jury.

Our role:

Beaux Arts Consulting supported Liberty Specialty Markets in carrying out the 2021–2022, 2022–2023 and 2023–2024 editions of the Liberty Art Award :

• Monitoring of the timetable and overall coordination of the competition and exchanges between stakeholders (Liberty, Beaux Arts & Cie, artists, jury members),
• Drafting of specifications for the call for entries,
• Distribution of the call for entries to art and photography schools, networks of emerging photographers, institutions and Le Quotidien de l’Art,
• Support in pre-selecting artists and selecting the winner,
• Setting up and running the jury.

Impact and follow-up:

In its three years of existence, the Liberty Specialty Markets photography prize has gained increasing recognition among emerging photographers and art schools. The prize has also enabled the three winning photographers to benefit from financial support for their practice, as well as increased exposure through an article in the Quotidien de l’Art (Article on Laura Miravet – winner 2021-2022 / Article on Bianca DaCosta – winner 2022/2023 / Article on Louis Miralles – winner 2023/2024).