JR, as we know him, is the pseudonym that comes from Jean-René, his actual name. He was born on 22nd February 1983 and grew up in the immigrant colony of Les Bosquets in Clichy-sous-Bois, a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris.
As a teenager, he used the city as his canvas, doing graffiti under the name “Face 3” with his friends and writing his name everywhere—from rooftops to basements—as if leaving his mark on society.
So, when he found a camera in a satchel left by someone in the subway, he started documenting these adventures. He printed the pictures he took and gifted them to his friends, and this sparked the idea of pasting images on the street.
This idea led to his first “expo de rue,” or sidewalk gallery, where he pasted pictures he had taken on the streets of Paris, sprayed a black frame around them, and changed the name of the exhibit based on where he pasted it. The whole idea behind this sidewalk gallery was that he didn’t want to go through the process of an art gallery, which would then decide if his work was worth exhibiting.
Instead, he chose to make the public the judge and curator of his art, and now, he has the biggest art gallery in the world.
Philosophy
“How can I save the world? Maybe you don’t need to save the world; you just need to change the world.” This is a statement he made when he won the TED Prize in 2011. This has been his core philosophy, the question: Can art change the world? So much so that he now runs a non-profit called Can Art Change the World, which funds educational programs, workshops, and his projects, like the Inside Out Project. It is aimed at bringing about social change through art.
Through his work, he narrates stories of the common folk to the common folk. The conversation that he starts between people through his work has led to change. He has tried to understand art in its truest nature, free from judgment, bias, stereotypes, or discrimination, and is thus able to work with people from different social structures throughout the world.
To simply describe what he does: “I help people to enlarge their story. That’s the whole idea of my work.”
Famous Works
Portrait of a Generation, Les Bosquets
“How can I save the world? Maybe you don’t need to save the world; you just need to change the world.” This is a statement he made when he won the TED Prize in 2011. This has been his core philosophy, the question: Can art change the world? So much so that he now runs a non-profit called Can Art Change the World, which funds educational programs, workshops, and his projects, like the Inside Out Project. It is aimed at bringing about social change through art.
A short film called Les Bosquets premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2015.
In 2014, he worked with the NYC Ballet to create art installations for the David H. Koch Theatre. Later, he was invited to choreograph a ballet performance to narrate this story, which featured music by Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer.
Women are Heroes
Whenever tragedies like war or political conflict occur, women are often the primary targets of crimes like assault, kidnapping, and oppression. This project aimed to pay tribute to women and give them the recognition they deserve.
This project began in 2008 in Morro da Providência in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a favela (an unplanned, densely built urban settlement) located on the face of a hill and has been infamous for drug dealing and crime.
In 2008, three kids were wrongly targeted in a misunderstanding and murdered brutally, which became headline news. JR went there, talked to locals, and arranged a meeting—only three women showed up. They were the mother, sister, and best friend of the victims. They didn’t even know who he was; they just wanted their story to be heard. The main question that arose among the population after this meeting was, “What is this going to change?” The answer was, “To show a different perspective than what the media is showing.” This response became the turning point. Twenty-four days later, the entire favela was covered in posters. This intrigued the media so much that helicopters with cameramen were sent, and helplines were set up to understand what was happening. For the first time, the media tried to reach these people. It was the women who went down the hill, where the media was gathered, and their real narrative was finally heard.
The India chapter of this project took place in March 2009 around Holi. Due to ongoing elections, pasting posters was prohibited. So instead of photographs, they pasted plain white sticker-like cutouts. As dust and Holi colour stuck to the glue on these stickers, they gradually revealed the images underneath.
A documentary with narratives from women around the world, released in 2010, was nominated and screened at the Cannes Film Festival.
Unframed
The Unframed project aims to install archival images or photographs taken by famous or anonymous photographers in environments where they reflect the context of the space.
For example, Ellis Island—located next to the Statue of Liberty—was the entry point to the United States for 12 million immigrants between 1892 and 1954. JR revisited this island and installed pictures of these immigrants inside the buildings.
A short film, ELLIS, directed by JR and starring Robert De Niro, shared the immigrant experience of that time through narrative.
Tehachapi
In 2019, JR received permission to work in one of the most high-security Supermax prisons in California. He met with 28 inmates, heard their stories, and with their help, along with that of guards and staff, installed a large image in the prison yard.
He simultaneously released videos of these conversations. Many of these men had been in prison for over a decade, disconnected from family and the outside world. After this initiative, they were once again seen as human. Some reconnected with families, some were transferred to lower-security prisons, and a few were even granted bail.
He also installed an image of a mountain just above the prison walls, creating the illusion that the prison overlooked it. It made the enclosure feel less confining.
More installations and an Inside Out project also took place at Tehachapi. In 2023, a documentary film was released based on this project.
The Inside Out Project
His largest participatory art project to date is Inside Out, which invites people to share their stories and voices through art. JR launched it on March 2, 2011, after winning the TED Prize. Over 14 years, the project has reached 153 countries and territories, empowering more than 2,500 communities across every continent to express themselves through art. Even today, anyone from anywhere in the world can join and share their story. In 2013, it was made into a documentary by Alastair Siddons and made its world premiere at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival.
Carraige for the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express
The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, a luxury revival of the historic train, includes various carriages such as a bar car, dining cars, historic cabins, and grand suites. Recently, a new carriage, L’Observatoire designed by JR, was added.
He is the first artist to design a carriage for the train. It was inspired by his childhood fascination with trains, the design of his Paris studio, astronomical observatories, and Renaissance-era cabinets of curiosity.
He studied archives of René Prou and René Lalique, original train designers, and used century-old artisanal techniques to preserve the pre-1945 aesthetic while reimagining the space. It includes a library, a secret tearoom, and eye-shaped portholes. The carriage was launched at the Venice Biennale in 2024.
Apart from these, he has many other ongoing and completed projects, some of which he continues to revisit from time to time.
From creating art installations around the Louvre to hosting a picnic along the US–Mexico border, he consistently pushes his boundaries and moves further along the path of change.
JR has become an icon in street art, reimagining it by transcending social constraints and stereotypes. His projects create a dynamism around themselves, they amplify unheard voices such that they truly start to change the world, one person at a time. His unwavering commitment to his philosophy, and his belief in the power of public art has made him a catalyst for change in communities around the world.
Citations:
- Abinal, Emile, and JR. “Women Are Heroes.” IMDb, 12 Jan. 2011, www.imdb.com/title/tt1667154/ . Accessed 28 June 2025.
- “Inside out Project.” Www.insideoutproject.net, www.insideoutproject.net/en/.
- “Jean-René (JR) Paintings, Bio, Ideas.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/artist/jr/.
- “JR – Artist.” JR – Artist, www.jr-art.net/projects .
- “JR | New York City Ballet.” Nycballet.com, 2025, www.nycballet.com/discover/nycb-art-series/art-series-2014-jr/. Accessed 28 June 2025.
- “JR’s inside OUT: THE PEOPLE’S ART PROJECT Now Available on ITunes | Tribeca.” Tribeca, 2025, tribecafilm.com/news/jr-s-inside-out-the-people-s-art-project-now-avail. Accessed 28 June 2025.
- “L’Observatoire Suite by JR | Venice Simplon-Orient-Express.” Belmond.com, 2025, www.belmond.com/trains/europe/venice-simplon-orient-express/l-observatoire-suite-by-jr. Accessed 28 June 2025.
- “Our Programs – Can Art Change the World?” Canartchangetheworld.net, 2024, www.canartchangetheworld.net/en/programs . Accessed 28 June 2025.
- TED. “JR: Can Art Change the World? | TED.” YouTube, 27 June 2022, www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fY-iSzbls8.
