Artist JR Brings His Inside Out Project to the Centre Pompidou

PARIS, June 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Centre Pompidou has opened its doors to a new installation by JR, the artist and TED Prize winner who wished for men and women to stand up for what they care about by contributing to a large-scale participatory art project.

Through his TED Prize wish, the "Inside Out Project," people offer their portraits and personal statement of something they stand for. People then paste these images in their communities, either as individuals or part of a group action.

JR's Centre Pompidou installation includes some of the artist's original work, as well as a giant photo booth where people can take and print their picture, and then paste it in their own community.

"We are inviting people to visit the Centre Pompidou and share their personal stories and images with Inside Out," said JR. "Already, people from Brazil, Tunisia, Brooklyn, and Japan have participated by pasting in their communities.  Providing a photo booth at the Centre Pompidou will show thousands of people what we're doing, and give them a chance to contribute to this global art project."

The photo booth is available to museum visitors throughout the summer. It is part of the Centre Pompidou exhibit "Paris-Delhi-Bombay."

"It is thrilling to see JR's Inside Out Project inspiring people and communities around the world," said TED Prize Director Amy Novogratz. "Providing a photo booth for a full summer at the Centre Pompidou will spread this message of participation and allow thousands of people to offer their photo, and a statement of what they stand for. I look forward to seeing the unique images and stories that result from the Centre Pompidou's Inside Out participation."

Images of the photo booth and Pompidou installation can be viewed here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.191132140932447.49578.176847225694272#!/media/set/?set=a.191132140932447.49578.176847225694272

About the Inside Out Project

Inside Out is a large-scale participatory art project that transforms messages of personal identity into pieces of artistic work. Everyone is challenged to use black and white photographic portraits to discover, reveal and share the untold stories and images of people around the world. These digitally uploaded images are made into posters and sent back to the project's co-creators, for them to exhibit in their own communities. People can participate as an individual or as part of a group. Posters can be placed anywhere, from a solitary image in an office window, to a wall of an abandoned building, or in a full stadium. These exhibitions will be documented, archived and made available online at http://www.insideoutproject.net/. 

About the TED Prize

The first TED Prize was awarded in 2005, born out of the TED Conference and a vision by the world's leading entrepreneurs, innovators, and entertainers to change the world – one Wish at a time. The reward: $100,000, the TED Community's array of talent and expertise, and the leadership of a TED Prize team led by Amy Novogratz. What began as an unparalleled experiment to leverage the resources of the TED Community to spur global change has evolved into one of the most prestigious prizes.

From Bono's the ONE Campaign ('05 recipient) to Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution ('10 recipient), the TED Prize is helping to combat poverty, take on religious intolerance, improve global health, tackle child obesity, advance education, and now inspire art around the world.

For more information on the TED Prize, visit www.tedprize.org.

CONTACT:  Erin Allweiss, 917-512-2118, [email protected]

SOURCE The TED Prize