Wedged between the major German, French and Dutch photography school, making a name for itself could have proven difficult for the Ecole de Photographie, Département du Centre d’enseignement professionnel de Vevey (CEPV). The first photography school in Suisse romande (French-speaking Switzerland), the CEPV turned the situation to its advantage. With the quality of its teachers and their technical and artistic values, the workshops led by leading players in European photography, and a pedagogy that combines creativity and rigor, the CEPV quickly proved itself. The photography festival Images originated in Vevey, whose slogan is now “Vevey: City of Images”, and the opening of the Musée de l’Elysée in Lausanne strengthened the cultural and artistic influence of the school.
The general public knows few Swiss figures in photography outside of Werner Bischof and Robert Frank. But today Switzerland has seen an explosion of photographic creativity burst through its calm and neutral demeanor. Gertrude Fehr (1895-1996), who founded the school in 1945, would no doubt be pleased with this development.
The institution has faced a permanent dilemma since acquiring its public school status in 1945: What kind of instruction can we provide, and for which photographers? For Léonore Veya, dean of the Photography department, and Nicolas Savary, head of professional training, “The priority is to help students find their own voice. They are creators in search of a style. We ask for a great deal of motivation on their part.” Students also come to confront professional reality. In Switzerland, although the market for photography and studio art is active, “like everywhere else, documentary photography has been undermined and trivialized, endangering some publishers.”
An integral part of the instruction are courses in theory, and workshops led by internationally renowned photographers, art critics, gallerists and publishers. Some past speakers include Valérie Belin, Philippe Brault, Peter Bialobrzeski, Anuschka Blommers & Niels Schumm, Adam Broomberg & Oliver Chanarin, Gilbert Fastenaekens, Stanley Greene, Guillaume Herbaut, Mary Ellen Mark and Eric Nehr. Eight professors take turns teaching the courses in theory: Frédéric Bachmann, Caroline Bernard, Mathieu Bernard-Reymond, Nassim Daghighian, Kerrith Mackenzie, Virginie Otth, Nicolas Savary and Léonore Veya.
The strength of the instruction is its alternation between workshops and other complementary approaches. Following a year of studio training and three months’ work on a photography project (books, exhibitions, magazines, websites), each student presents his or her work to a jury of experts. Past jury members have included Christian Caujolle, Paul Frèches, Valérie Mréjen, Marta Ponsa and Oliva Maria Rubio. Students will rely on what they learn at CEPV for the rest of their professional lives.
In 2011, CEPV graduate Matthew Gafsou was awarded the HSBC Prize, and the work of Augustin Rebetez was exhibited at the Rencontres d’Arles.
