STRASBOURG, FRANCE.- St'art, the second-ranking contemporary art fair in France in terms of the number of exhibitors and visitors, is paying homage to collectors for the first time this year by presenting private and public collections: The paintings and sculptures of the collectors' association Les Centaures. Among others, Les Centaures exhibits works by Max Neumann, Bram Bogart, Pincemin, Favier, Pizzi Cannella, Miguel Chevalier, Olivier Debré and Pages.

Founded by the architect Christian Forestier, the association Les Centaures is made up of over fifty art enthusiasts and since 1993, has purchased the works of young artists thanks to the subscriptions of its members. Their collection includes 84 paintings, sculptures and photographic works. It will be sold at auction by decision of the AGM. Just like La Peau de l'Ours which inspired Les Centaures' project, the profits from the auction will be shared out among the association's members and the artists in proportion to each person's contribution at the time the sale occurs. La Peau de l'Ours was the artistic event of 1914. The collection sold in that year contained major works by names such as Bonnard, Picasso, Matisse and Rouault.

Contemporary glass work presented by the European studio glass art association (Esgaa). Esgaa is inviting glass sculptors from all over Europe on the theme "From shadow to light". Esgaa was founded in 2003 by nine glass collectors from Switzerland, Luxembourg and France to promote this art form which is still not widely acknowledged in France, even though European artists are at the forefront in this field. This is the second year that Esgaa is taking part in St'art.

Photographs collected by Madeleine Millot-Durrenberger. A native of Strasbourg, Madeleine Millot-Durrenberger will be exhibiting her collection including works by Valérie Belin, Dieter Appelt, Tom Drahos, Ton Huijbers, Michel Journiac, Pascal Kern, Jürgen Klauke, Jean Le Gac, Ernest Pignon Ernest and Joël Peter Witkin.

Madeleine Millot-Durrenberger has been a collector of contemporary photography for 20 years. What she looks for in photography is a style, a self-contained world and an approach, rather than just an image. She has a thousand works by a hundred or so artists.

Photographs from the Alsace Regional Fund for Contemporary Art (FRAC) and the Strasbourg Modern and Contemporary Art Museum.

The Frac will be presenting works by contemporary artists, and the Strasbourg Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art will be displaying a selection of classic photographs.