JCDecaux brings contemporary artworks to the streets

JCDecaux has been supporting art projects all over the world. Thanks to JCDecaux, artists or art organizations can reach mass audiences that they are not able to do usually.

Portrait of Britain - UK

In its third year, British Journal of Photography launched the largest exhibition of contemporary portrait photography throughout the country in celebration of multiculturalism and diversity.

Following an open call earlier this year, over 13,000 portraits were submitted. For the first time of its exhibition, British Journal of Photography collaborated with Hoxton Mini Press to publish its Portrait of Britain book, which contains 200 shortlisted entries.

Among these 200 portraits, 100 winners were selected and displayed on JCDecaux UK’s digital screens in rail stations, shopping malls, high streets as well as at Heathrow airport.

Featuring portraits of public figures we can see on the television and those of ordinary people we may come across in daily life, the exhibition is a kaleidoscope of the many faces that make up modern Britain and is seen by over 10 million people annually.

Portrait of Britain is public art on a huge scale – a countrywide exhibition that puts the nation’s citizens centre stage in bustling public spaces. Thanks to our partnership with JCDecaux, with its huge network of digital screens up and down the land, 100 portraits will take over Great Britain throughout September, confronting the public with a reflection of themselves as they go about their daily business. Taken from all walks of life, these subjects share the same space, looking back at the public from the screen. The effect is a lingering glance, and witnessed by millions of passersby. Simon Bainbridge Editorial Director, British Journal of Photography

Tokyo Compression – Germany

Wall has been holding outdoor galleries for years on Hamburg’s famous Jungfernstieg boulevard in collaboration with Lebendiger Jungfernstieg e.V, a non-profit organization who organises artistic and cultural events, aiming to make the boulevard more lively and attractive to the public.

Since 2012, Wall install 16 temporary panels along the Jungfernstieg boulevard for 4 weeks to present a selection of photographs or graphic artworks from the Deichtorhallen, one of the largest art centres for contemporary art and photography in Europe.

This year, it was Michael Wolf’s “Tokyo Compression” series that impressed passers-by with portraits of Japanese commuters pressed against the windows in crowded subway cars in Tokyo.

Michael Wolf is a German-American photographer, who is known for his photographs focusing oncontemporary life in mega cities.

Madrid Grafica 2018 - Spain

Since 2017, the Madrid Designers’ Association (Asociación Diseñadores de Madrid. DIMAD) and Madrid City Council, organize Madrid Grafica, an annual event that gathers the best graphic works worldwide and makes Madrid a reference city for graphic design.

This October, Madrid Grafica 2018 was back with 14 exhibitions, including one outdoor art gallery near the famous Reina Sofía Museum with the support of JCDecaux Spain.
At Plaza Juan Goytisolo, 15 panels were installed by JCDecaux Spain to exhibit graphic works on the theme of “Ciudad Persona”, which reflected cosmopolitan cities and lives of its urban dwellers.

Passers-by were able to enjoy the artworks of some well-known international graphic designers, such as Ivan Chermayeff, Mirko Ilic, Alain Le Quernec, Pekka Loiri and Alejandro Magallanes, as well as new graphic talents.