"Joel Quayson's groundbreaking creation for Dior Beauty, titled 'Face-to-Face,' is now available for viewing"
In the world of art and fashion, the Dior Photography and Visual Arts Award for Young Talents has become a beacon for emerging artists, showcasing innovative and thought-provoking works that push the boundaries of creativity. This year, the award has found its winner in Joel Quayson, a student at the Royal Academy of Arts in The Hague, whose self-portrait video titled 'How do you feel?' has left a lasting impression on the jury.
Quayson's winning work explores questions about identity, self-presentation, and personal feelings, presenting a captivating exploration of the artist's own 'competing selves'. The video, which will be exhibited at Luma Arles from 5 July to 5 October 2025, and at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris in early 2026, invites viewers to reflect on the complexities of self-expression and the human condition.
As a winner, Quayson will receive a €10,000 grant from the House of Dior, a testament to the brand's commitment to nurturing and supporting young talent in the fields of photography and visual arts. This sponsorship is in partnership with Luma, a contemporary art foundation that shares Dior's vision for fostering artistic innovation.
This year's theme for the Dior Photography and Visual Arts Award was 'Face-to-Face', inviting students from around the world to submit works that interpret the theme in their unique ways. Among the finalists, Aline Savioz used AI to create retro-futurist images of alien-like figures, while Momo Nakawa digitally created a psychedelic installation of layered prints.
The connection between art and fashion is deeply rooted in Dior's history and continuous creative vision. Founded by Christian Dior in 1946, the fashion house has always cultivated an aesthetic that merges haute couture with artistic expression, often drawing inspiration from various art forms to innovate and elevate its designs. Dior's commitment to the arts extends beyond fashion, as the brand actively supports young talents in the fields of photography and visual arts, aiming to discover and promote emerging artists who represent innovation and creativity.
Christian Dior himself saw fashion as a form of art, creating ultra-feminine silhouettes and luxurious fabrics that broke contemporary paradigms, thus integrating aesthetics and artistry in couture. This intertwining of fashion with art extended into Dior's collaborations and cultural engagements over the years, including embracing photography both as an art form and a medium for showcasing the house's design ethos.
Raine Roberts received a special mention in this year's award for her work titled 'Chasing the Wind River', a video documenting nomadic yak-herding communities in the south-east of the Tibetan plateau. The Dior Photography and Visual Arts Award for Young Talents exemplifies Dior's tradition of nurturing emerging creativity in these fields, and serves as a reminder of the brand's position as a patron of the arts in the contemporary cultural scene.
[1] Dior.com (2021). Christian Dior: A History of the House of Dior. [online] Available at: https://www.dior.com/en_us/discover-dior/history [2] Dior.com (2021). Dior Photography and Visual Arts Award for Young Talents. [online] Available at: https://www.dior.com/en_us/discover-dior/art-and-culture/dior-photography-and-visual-arts-award-for-young-talents [3] Vogue.com (2017). The Art of Christian Dior. [online] Available at: https://www.vogue.com/fashion/article/the-art-of-christian-dior [4] Artnet News (2019). Dior's 70th Anniversary Show Embraces Its Artistic Legacy. [online] Available at: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/dior-70th-anniversary-show-1533069
Quayson's winning video series offers an intriguing fusion of lifestyle and fashion-and-beauty, as he presents his personal exploration of identity and self-expression, which are significant aspects of education-and-self-development. The Dior Photography and Visual Arts Award for Young Talents, with its theme of 'Face-to-Face', provides a platform for students worldwide to exhibit their innovative interpretations of the intersection of art and self-expression.
