On Marion Hilsen

In January 2018, Marion Hislen was announced as Delegate for Photography by the French Ministry of Culture, a dedicated focus that France has placed on the medium that no other country enjoys.

According to the official communiqué, Hislen would "maintain a permanent dialogue with artists and professionals in the sector and will give a strong impetus to State policy in the field of photography, combining creation, heritage, dissemination and amateur practices". Prior to taking up this position, Hislen had an extensive career supporting photography and developing young artist, having founded Fetart, an association that supports emerging international photographers, in 2005. In 2011, the association launched the festival Circulation(s), which in 2021 will host the Parisian photography festival: Les Rencontres du 10e. Hislen also curated the first retrospective devoted to contemporary Chinese photography, Paris-Beijing, and several exhibitions for the cultural centre Centuatre and at the Rencontres d'Arles. With all this experience, passion, and energy, it is not a surprise she was offered the position.

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Why did the Ministry decide to create the position?

The Respresentation of each artistic discipline is at the heart of the Directorate General of Artistic Creation (DGCA). There is already a visual arts department within the DGCA, but it was felt that the uniqueness and diversity of the art of Photography deserved specific advocacy. Photographers are many and diverse; it is important to represent their voices both within the Ministry of Culture and outside. Photography is represented within the Heritage and Creative Industries sections of the Ministry already, but the formation of the Photography Delegation consolidates the vision and voices of this distinct sector.

What gap was it anticipated this role would fill or improve? How were short and long term goals set?

One of the Delegation's objectives is to improve awareness of the photographic discipline and its ecosystem: distribution, publishing, agencies, social photography. The Delegation began by forming a 'Photography parliament', a place to launch a discussion around Photography and take stock of the current situation. It is a forum involving professionals from the sector, which allows us to listen and understand the problems experienced, and the issues and the projects to support.

I tend to believe that if our artists are well represented and supported in France, they will be recognised internationally. However, the action of the Ministry of Culture is at a national level, whereas the promotion of French culture abroad falls within the remit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which benefits from an important network of French institutions all over the world.

Many of the benefits associated with the arts are intangible, from improvements in mental health to sparking creative solutions in other industries. Were the measures used to track the success of the initiative solely societal, economic, or a combination of both?

We are convinced of the importance of the Arts in our society. The Ministry of Culture measures the success of projects according to specific criteria, such as the number of educational workshops for the general public, the respect for gender equality, access and inclusion of youth in our programmes, etc.

What future goals, both medium and long term, have you set yourself?

It has been a long and short two years at the same time. I think that the Delegation has gained the confidence of our stakeholders. This is important and it has materialised in various projects we collaborated on. The most important thing for me is that the still image is as recognised and defended as the moving image, and that the copyright is applied and respected. It is an attainable objective; music and cinema got there. The use of images by various platforms without fair remuneration for their authors should no longer exist. The image should be traced and paid for at fair value. If the creators are not paid, the diversity of creation will be lost.

Would you suggest this is a position recommendable for other countries interested in supporting the discipline? What do other countries need to do to recognise Photography at the same level as France?

The Delegation for Photography is part of a long tradition of State support for the arts. The Ministry of Culture is over sixty years old. It has demonstrated its central role to French culture. Every country is unique and does not function in the same way. Therefore, transferring the same model may be difficult. However, photography should be recognised in every country as an artistic discipline in its own right.

There is a wider discussion around the democratic nature of the move to online platforms and the fact that these may be only accessible to those with the right equipment. In some countries, access to arts is generally free, in others the arts were already inaccessible for many due to fees to enter galleries, fairs, festivals, theatres, concerts, etc. What are your views in relation to this conversation?

In France, many cultural places are free, especially for those under 18. The question is therefore, not so much about free admission, but more about how to engage certain audiences that remain distant from the art world. Digital technology is certainly one of the answers, but the physical encounter with a work of art or artist is essential. When the two come together, it gets interesting. For example, if thanks to Beyonce the Louvre became popular, then the work of the Ministry starts at the door of the museum.

Projects such as Elles x Paris Photo actively open a conversation around equality, critically and without major disruption to those participating. It enhances and it adds value. Likewise, issues around diversity in representation of race, credo, national or social origin, etc. need to be addressed in order to change the canon, interrogating our ability to be truly inclusive, creating the right environment for honest and critical discourse. What other projects in relation to equality took place or are planned for the future?

We are currently working on this theme for the 2020 edition of Paris Photo and equality is a part of all the agreements we make with the participating galleries and organisations. We are also working on a portal dedicated to women photographers and are supporting the first historical book on international women photographers, to be published by Textuel this Autumn. Beyond my personal interest, this subject is considered and discussed by the Ministry of Culture on a daily basis, especially with its interlocutors.

Paying artists an adequate fee for their work should be the norm, and this is in fact inscribed in French law. You have supported the very same idea through your work in Fetart. However, in practice it can often be difficult to enforce. How does the Ministry bring about change in this regard?

It is a long journey, but with no return. Our discipline is struggling because it does not have the support of intermediary bodies, such as producers or unions, who would be capable to ardently defend the industry and contribute to its profound change. The Ministry does make recommendations and acts on these within the organisations it funds. The idea is to lead a change in mentality. Remuneration for artists’ public presentations has, for example, been promoted by our management for a year. For an exhibition, the artist’s work must be rewarded in the same way as the scenographer or the graphic designer would be. Exposure is not enough to pay rent. I am convinced that in such long- term struggles, the collective efforts win.

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