Gilles Zeimet has resigned with immediate effect as director of Luxembourg’s national archive for photography, film and sound, Centre national de l’audiovisuel (CNA), following mounting criticism and allegations that he has misled deputies about the conditions in which a Unesco-listed collection of historic photographs were displayed.
Culture Minister Eric Thill told a meeting of parliament’s culture committee on Wednesday that Zeimet had resigned from his post at the CNA, which he had led since September 2023.
A landmark collection
The restored version of the last, assembled “Family of Man” complete retrospective is on display in Clervaux. Now, concerns are being raised about possible damage © Photo credit: Marc Wilwert
“The Family of Man” is a landmark photographic exhibition originally curated by Luxembourg-born Edward Steichen for the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. First presented in 1955, it toured internationally until 1962.
The version housed in Clervaux is the last complete edition of the original travelling exhibition and includes prints prepared for the European tour by Steichen himself. It differs slightly from the original MoMA version.
The collection was donated to Luxembourg in the mid-1960s and was inscribed on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register in 2003. An international symposium dedicated to the exhibition is scheduled to take place in Clervaux over the weekend of 25 April.
Concerns over conservation conditions
The controversy centres on the conditions in which “The Family of Man” exhibition was displayed at Clervaux Castle. Shortly before the committee meeting, opposition party Déi Lénk circulated an analysis of climate data from the exhibition rooms, reinforcing concerns previously raised in the media.
“This analysis clearly contradicts the statements made by the director of the CNA (Centre national de l’audiovisuel), Gilles Zeimet, before the Culture Committee,” said déi Lénk deputy Marc Baum. “Our analysis shows that this extremely valuable photo exhibition, which has been listed in UNESCO’s ‘Memory of the World’ register since 2003, was exposed to significant fluctuations in temperature and humidity over a prolonged period, which could have damaged these important works.”
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Baum told the committee the works may have been subjected to poor conditions for weeks, describing the situation as a “major shock”. Baum accused both the CNA leadership and the ministry of downplaying the issue.
While the CNA management presented only global averages, raw data indicated periods of what critics described as “tropical conditions” in the exhibition spaces for days.
While there is currently no evidence of any damage, Baum warned that, in the worst-case scenario, such conditions could lead to mould, cracking or the detachment of image layers from their wooden supports.
Baum is calling for a comprehensive review by external conservators, a technical audit of the climate control system in Clervaux Castle, and greater transparency in the communication surrounding the case.
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Management concerns
The situation has been compounded by broader concerns about the CNA’s internal functioning. Zeimet has faced criticism from staff over his management style and the institution’s lack of specialist expertise.
At a previous committee meeting, Zeimet acknowledged that there are currently no specialist staff at the CNA who would be able to properly examine the photographs in Clervaux for damage.
Following the session, Baum said he would continue to pursue the matter, citing both the handling of the exhibition and reported working conditions within the CNA. “It is equally important that the serious problem of poor working conditions and a toxic work environment at the CNA in Dudelange is now taken very seriously,” he said.
The immediate priority is to strengthen the CNA’s long-term position, the culture minister said during the meeting, not only technically, but also in terms of organisational structure, internal processes and crisis management.
Thill said that while conditions in a historic building such as Clervaux Castle can never be “100% perfect”, but stressed that the maximum possible level of adequate conditions had to be guaranteed.
The culture minister acknowledged misinterpreting climate data from the exhibition rooms in a previous media interview, while insisting he had relayed CNA experts’ assessments “verbatim” to the committee and parliament.
Zeimet rejects allegations
In a statement released by the Ministry of Culture, Zeimet rejected accusations that he had misled parliament.
“I have always carried out my duties to the best of my knowledge and conscience,” he said, adding that he had informed both the Chamber of Deputies and the ministry “based on the best available information”.
“In recent weeks, however, the focus has increasingly shifted to me personally. This has made it difficult to continue the CNA’s work calmly, objectively, and effectively, as it is in the midst of a significant and necessary restructuring,” said Zeimet. “I do not want to hinder anything that is close to my heart,” he added.
(This article is the combination of two articles originally published by the Luxemburger Wort. Machine translated using AI, with editing by Lucrezia Reale.)
