What is Jeunes Critiques d’Art ?

Jeunes Critiques d'Art is a Parisian collective created in 2015, comprised of 15 members who contribute to an online magazine of the same name. We all write independently and freely - without objectives of productivity, or restrictions in themes and styles - and cover exhibition reviews, artist portraits and more theoretical texts about art and its environment.

We defend a liberated form of writing, because we believe that art critique cannot exist without freedom and responsibility. As such, all of our texts are written on a voluntary basis and are made available to the public without paywalls.

In contrast to the hubbub of advertising images that surrounds us all, we want our platform to be a place for contemplation, isolated from an attention-grabbing environment. Our website is free from advertisements, and we do not generate any revenue with it.

We stand for a form of writing that is accessible to all, stripped from the incomprehensible jargon that often confuses minds and keeps readers away; because we strongly believe that contemporary art is meaningless when it exists in isolation from the world.

We know that readers, artists and institutions expect more than a simple translation of information. We believe that we can provide accessible texts without sacrificing depth of content; because from being incompatible, accessibility and depth inform each other instead. Thus, we do not impose any size limits or thematic restrictions to our authors.

We believe that thought cannot develop in isolation, we are therefore committed to creating an intellectual emulation between the different members of the collective. Writing is often a solitary activity, but it is important for us to be able to meet, discuss and grow together, and create a caring, collegial and horizontal structure.

It seems essential to us to create bridges between the different artistic scenes, to rassemble critics who defend common values, and to offer a broader vision of the contemporary art world to the public. We have therefore decided to create a confederation of critics’ collectives at an international level.

What is this international project? The story of YACI.

Young Art Critic International - YACI - is an international confederation of independent collectives, that brings together critics of all nationalities.

Today, three collectives are being created in London, Berlin and Switzerland. Together with Jeunes Critiques d'Art (Paris) they will constitute the new confederation. Other groups are currently being developed, in the process of reflection or about to be initiated, in Brussels, Montreal, New York, Shanghai, Vienna, Cologne, Buenos Aires, Moscow, Prague, Marseille and Beirut, Morocco, Peru, Cambodia, Chile, Israel, Tunisia, Lithuania, Romania, Algeria and Brazil. YACI will be officially launched in September 2019, together with the new website that will rassemble all of the articles by our critics.

YACI is also a free online magazine, without advertisements, which brings together texts by authors of the group's collectives. We provide accessible and ambitious texts, written voluntarily, aimed at the greatest number of people. All publications will be available in their original language and in English, so that everyone can access them.

YACI is a collection of artistic, intellectual and sensory discoveries from around the world, shared by writers who are committed to a critique that is free, at the service of artists and addressed at the general public.

Why do we need you?

As you might have understood, our website is not and will never produce any income, and critical writing will never be used as a way to grow our personal savings. This is true for Jeunes Critiques d’Art, and it will be for all the collectives of the international movement: the creation of financial wealth is not what is at stake here.

However, we cannot create this movement without a minimum of initial investment. In particular, we need to create a website capable of hosting all the articles that will soon arrive from the collectives. We also want to design this site specifically for you, as a user-friendly reading platform, where you can take the time to make varied discoveries.

We believe in the power of a community. We are convinced that the best way to finance this website is therefore to reach out to the people who will soon benefit from it. This is why we are calling on you today: to invite you to join us in the creation of this beautiful and great cultural movement, so that art can always be shared, beyond borders and economic challenges.

Who are we ?

The Young Art Critic International project is supported by four members of Jeunes Critiques d'Art:

Grégoire Prangé (co-president) is an art critic and independent curator. A student at Lycée Henri IV, then at Sorbonne University, École du Louvre and ESSEC Business School, he quickly became involved in community life and co-founded the Jeunes Critiques d'Art collective in 2015, Interférences association in 2018 and Young Art Critic International confederation in 2019. After several internships (Éric Dupont Gallery, MAMC+, TRAM and Kamel Mennour Gallery), he participates in the curatorial of museum exhibitions (Zentrum Paul Klee, MUDAM) and regularly contributes to exhibition catalogues and artist monographs.

Camille Bardin (co-president) is an independent art critic and curator. After having written for various magazines (L’Obs, Art Absolument, Point Contemporain, Art Média Agency, Toute la Culture, etc) she joined the Jeunes Critiques d’Art collective because she wishes a independent, committed and literary art critic. In 2019, she collaborates for exhibition catalogs (Vincent Gicquel at the Thomas Bernard Gallery, Lenny Rebéré at the Isabelle Gounod Gallery, etc.), contributes for the publication of a book on highway art and co-founds Young International Art Critic (YACI).

Diane Der Markarian (general secretary) is an independent art critic. Student in art history at the University of Aix-Marseille and the University of Neuchâtel in Switzerland, she continues her studies in museology research at the Ecole du Louvre and participates in the international seminar of Canadian museology at the Montreal University. In 2016, she joined the Jeunes Critiques d’Art collective and became the year after the association’s communicaty manager. Passed by the Museum of Art and History of Neuchâtel, she has collaborated in the retrospective of the painter Oskar Kokoschka Kunsthaus-Zurich with the Institute of Art History and Museology of Neuchâtel. In 2019, she co-founds Young Art Critic International (YACI).

Léo Panico-Djoued (treasurer) is an independent art critic. Student at the École du Louvre and at ESSEC, he is specialized in the study of contemporary creation and the art market. In 2015 he co-founds the Jeunes Critiques d’Art collective, in 2019 Young Art Critic International (YACI) and is also a SensoProjekt’s member, an association for the dissemination and pro motion of art movies. Passed by the Françoise Besson gallery, the Adèle network in Lyon and the Lambert Collection in Avignon, he had recently collaborate on the «Des Photographies au mur» exhibition at the Beaux-Arts in Paris and regularly participates in the writing of exhibition catalogs.

YACI - Young Art Critic International