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The Inside Out Project, a global participatory art project started by JR, a French artist and photographer who enjoys world renown for his art and urban photography, has arrived in Madrid. It will take the form of a large-scale exhibition covering the facade of one of IE’s buildings at María de Molina 31 as a symbol of diversity at IE. The exhibition is made up of 84 black and white photos of students, graduates and staff members representing the high levels of diversity at IE, which has students from 131 countries. This enormous participatory art display was organized by IE in response to a student-led initiative, and forms part of a series of Inside Out exhibitions held around the world.

The temporary exhibition comprises a gigantic 860m2 mural with 84 black and white portraits of IE students, graduates, deans and staff members, looking out onto the street from all 8 stories of the building. Their faces and expressions transmit the value of diversity in terms of geography, culture, gender and background, which forms an integral part of IE’s identity and is a major factor in enriching the learning experience. The display covers the façade of IE’s María de Molina 31 building in Madrid’s financial district. The 84 photos that make up the photographic tapestry were taken by IE professor and photographer Brian Hallett

“IE is made up of unique individuals who want to build and enrich a shared project based on the differences within the group which serve to strengthen the system and drive innovation and productivity,” says Celia de Anca, director of IE’s Center for Diversity. “Even more importantly, it makes the whole process more interesting for everyone involved. This is what diversity means to us.” Marta Campmany, a graduate of IE’s Master in Visual and Digital Media, who helped set up the initiative alongside fellow graduates Alessia Cappello and Alice Ferrari, talked about how the project highlights the fact that diversity is present throughout IE’s entire community, not just among the student body. “We want to form part of a group action on a global scale to help corroborate the fact that the power of art as a means of communication can be huge.”

About JR

JR is a French artist and photographer renowned for his street art and urban photography. He received the TED award for having inspired people “to see art where they wouldn’t expect it and create it when they didn’t know they could.” He converts his photos of people into enormous black-and-white photos which are spread on large walls and building façades around the world. Thousands of volunteers participate in his work, which is designed to highlight social issues and inspire society to see the world from another perspective and strive to make it a better place. 

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. The aim is to use black and white photographic portraits to discover, reveal and share untold stories and images of people around the world. These images are made into posters and sent back to the projectʼs co-creators for them to exhibit in their own communities. These exhibitions are documented, archived and be made available online at

http://www.insideoutproject.net/. The Inside Out project is a creation of the artist JR. Over 250,000 people in 129 countries have taken part in the project. Inside Out has traveled the length and breadth of the world from Mexico to Palestine, Ecuador to Nepal, and other corners of the planet, inspiring different groups of people in a range of aspects of life, such as hope and diversity, and raising awareness of issues like gender-based violence.

About IE

IE Business School offers a technology-driven learning ecosystem for leaders who make a real difference in the world through innovation, global vision, an entrepreneurial mindset, and a unique focus on humanities. Recognized as one of the world’s leading business schools, IE Business School has a faculty of more than 500 professors who teach students from 131 countries on its master, PhD and executive education programs. IE’s alumni network comprises more than 50,000 graduates who currently hold management positions in some 165 countries.

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