The love story between entertainment retail chain Fnac and photography goes back sixty years. But what could have been a lovely anniversary might now be spoiled by the sad news that Fnac will soon close its network of photo galleries.
Fnac has yet to make an official announcement regarding the decision. After weeks of rumors, we contacted their press office, which confirmed that 2014 would see an overhaul of its cultural policy with respect to photography, due in part to low attendance at its galleries.
Since it opened in 1954, Fnac founders André Essel and Max Théret worked to promote photography. The first permanent exhibition was held in 1966 with the photographs of Jean Lattès, closely followed by a national cultural network with the opening of Fnac photo galleries in 1967. These exhibition spaces in 20 stores across France have given the public the opportunity to see the work of both renowned and up-and-coming photographers.
Now, the signs that those days are over at Fnac are piling up. The department devoted to photography has seen several drastic reorganizations, and the photo gallery exhibition calendar ends on June 5th, 2014, with little information about their future.
In 2005, Fnac announced the closure of 90% of its photo galleries, then directed by Laura Sérani, due to budgetary reasons. The galleries were later renovated and reopened under Marion Hislen. We therefore have reason to hope that this episode is only temporary, and that the management will find a new and efficient way to promote photography.
It was in 1978, at the initiative of Gil Mijangos, that the Fnac photo collection was formed. Today it contains more than 2500 major works from Jacques Henri-Lartigue, Man Ray, Berenice Abbott, André Kertesz, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Elliot Erwitt, among others. Today the collection is held at the Musée Nicéphore Niépce in Chalôn sur Saône, and is soon expected to take to the road as a traveling exhibition
