If you’ve had an eye on what’s been happening in France around its music awards, you may have heard last year of the launch of the Joséphine Award – we, on our end, attended the ceremony of the first edition of the Joséphine des Artistes Award at the heart of Maison de la Radio last September. The 100% French Joséphine des Artistes Award, which does not award the success of an artist, but the quality of their creation, comes back for a second edition. If last year a prize was awarded to the queen of pop sweetness, November Ultra, this year, not one, but two prizes will be awarded! Applications are open until May 30th; more information below.
Il est toujours agréable de voir l’évolution d’un projet, par essence ambitieux, prendre de l’ampleur pour répondre à sa mission première. En l’occurrence, le Prix Joséphine des artistes – plus communément appelé Prix Joséphine – s’était donné pour mission de mettre en avant la création artistique pour ce qu’elle est avant tout, à savoir une oeuvre d’art, et non pas un succès commercial. Organisé sous forme de candidatures, présentées ensuite à un comité de sélection composé de journalistes, qui était présidé l’année dernière par la rédactrice en chef des Inrockuptibles. Les 10 finalistes se voient ensuite présenté-e-s à un jury professionnel, présidé l’année dernière par Keren Ann, et qui détermine, lors d’une soirée à la Maison de la Radio et en direct sur FIP, le ou la lauréate de l’édition annuelle.
It is always a pleasure to witness the evolution of a project, especially when it is ambition by nature. In this case, the Joséphine des Artistes Award – more commonly known as the Joséphine Award – is set out to highlight artistic creation for what it is at first : a work of art. Lots of awards celebrate an artist’s success rather than the music itself, and the Joséphine Award wanted to do things differently. As for most awards, you can apply for the Award – if you are a French artist – which allows then for your work to be presented to a selection committee composed of journalists. The 10 finalists are then introduced to a professional jury, which was chaired last year by Keren Ann, and who determine, during an evening at Maison de la Radio and broadcasted live on FIP, the winner of the annual edition.
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This year, the ceremony will be hosted the same way. However, additional visibility given to the artists selected by the committee, and also by an additional prize awarded : the Joséphine Prize awarded by a jury composed of 18-20 year olds ; in collaboration with the Pass Culture – a French public funding destined to help the youth access cultural events & devices – the Joséphine Prize wishes to give a voice to listeners who are rarely highlighted in this type of ceremony, and thus affirm its position within a field that generally rewards the success of an artist, regardless of their musical genre. This exceptional jury will even be mentored by the editorial teams of Télérama – a French cultural & musical publication – to give them all the necessary knowledge to make their selection.
Applications for the Award are open until May 30th for French artists. The selection committee then has until June 26th to determine its 10 finalists, on which date the selection will be announced and revealed to the public. Before its award on September 27th, the 10 finalists will benefit from increased visibility, through interviews, podcasts, videos or playlists to showcase the quality of their art. The 18-20 year olds Jury Prize will be awarded at the MaMA Music & Convention in October, one month after the main Prize is awarded.
Learn more about the Award : Prix Joséphine : a new French prize that awards French artists for their creative input & not their fame
The Prix Joséphine is to be found on their website as well as their Instagram account !
