Biography of Sebastião Salgado, reporter-photographer (1944–2025)
Sebastião Salgado was a Franco-Brazilian reporter-photographer, born in 1944 in Aimorés, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Trained as an economist, he discovered photography during his travels in Africa and decided to make it his profession. He was a resident at the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris from 1969 to 1971. He then began working in Paris with the agencies Sygma, Gamma, and Magnum Photos before founding Amazonas Images in 1994. His work, focused on human conditions and environmental preservation, took him to over one hundred countries. He notably covered the Rwandan genocide. Among his major publications are Other Americas, Sahel, Exodus, and Genesis. He was a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts and received numerous awards. He passed away in Paris in May 2025.
Biografía de Sebastião Salgado, fotojornalista (1944-2025)
Sebastião Salgado é um fotojornalista franco-brasileiro nascido em 1944 em Aimorés, Minas Gerais, Brasil. Economista de formação, ele descobriu a fotografia durante suas viagens à África e decidiu fazer dela sua profissão. Foi residente da Cité internationale universitaire de Paris de 1969 a 1971. Depois, iniciou sua carreira em Paris nas agências Sygma, Gamma e Magnum Photos antes de fundar a Amazonas Images em 1994. Seu trabalho, focado nas condições humanas e na preservação do meio ambiente, o levou a percorrer mais de cem países. Ele também cobriu o genocídio ruandês. Entre suas principais obras estão Outras Américas, Sahel, Êxodos e Gênesis. É membro da Academia de Belas Artes e recebeu várias distinções. Ele faleceu em Paris em maio de 2025.
We need to discover the pleasure of patience.
Devemos descobrir o prazer da paciência.
A poem-chair
“I adopted the chair, this familiar object, a few decades ago, at a time when I wanted to create art on a human scale in public spaces, while everywhere else people opted for the monumental: it is an object shaped like the body and serves the body. It is difficult to feel exclusive ownership of an object so universally shareable. It is mine when I occupy it, but if I leave it, someone else can claim it as their chair.” Michel Goulet, artist-sculptor
The project Prendre position
Prendre position is a sculpture-installation project of 47 chair-poems to mark the 100th anniversary of the Cité internationale universitaire de Paris. They were installed in a flowered meadow created especially for the occasion by the campus estate service.
This artistic installation was conceived by the Quebecois artist-sculptor Michel Goulet, in collaboration with François Massut, founding director of the collective Poésie is not dead.
Each house on the campus is represented by a chair, thanks to a donation from the Maison des étudiants canadiens and the support of the Labrenne group. Each of the 47 chairs is a unique work.
History and architecture of the house
The Fondation Biermans-Lapôtre was established thanks to the initiative of Jean Hubert Biermans, a businessman of Limburg origin. It was designed by Armand Guéritte, chief architect of the French government. This monumental building evokes traditional Flemish and Walloon architecture. The house primarily hosts Belgian and Luxembourgish students.
