The Rencontres d’Arles (formerly called ''Rencontres internationales de la photographie d’Arles'') is an annual summer photography festival founded in 1970 by the Arles photographer Lucien Clergue, the writer Michel Tournier and the historian Jean-Maurice Rouquette. The Rencontres d’Arles has an international reputation for showing material that has never been seen by the public before. In 2015, the festival welcomed 93,000 visitors; in 2016, the 100,000 visitor mark was reached. Specially designed exhibitions, often organised in collaboration with French and foreign museums and institutions, take place in various historic sites. Some venues, such as 12th-century chapels or 19th-century industrial buildings, are open to the public throughout the festival. The Rencontres d’Arles has launched the careers of numerous photographers, confirming its significance as a springboard for photography and contemporary creativity. In recent years the Rencontres d’Arles has invited many guest curators and entrusted some of its programming to prominent figures in the world of art and photography, such as Martin Parr in 2004,

Raymond Depardon Raymond Depardon (; born 6 July 1942) is a French photographer, photojournalist and documentary filmmaker. Early life Depardon was born in Villefranche-sur-Saône, France. Photographer Depardon is a mainly self-taught photographer, as he bega ...

in 2006, the Arles-born fashion designer Christian Lacroix in 2008 and

Nan Goldin Nancy Goldin (born September 12, 1953) is an American photographer and activist. Her work often explores LGBT subcultures, moments of intimacy, the HIV/AIDS crisis, and the opioid epidemic. Her most notable work is '' The Ballad of Sexual Depe ...

in 2009. The 51st edition of the festival was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, but the winners of the 2020 awards were nevertheless announced.

Art directors

* 1970 – 1972:

Lucien Clergue Lucien Clergue (; 14 August 1934 – 15 November 2014) was a French photographer. He was Chairman of the Academy of Fine Arts, Paris for 2013. Biography Lucien Clergue was born in Arles, France. At the age of 7 he began learning to play the ...

Michel Tournier Michel Tournier (; 19 December 1924 − 18 January 2016) was a French writer. He won awards such as the ''Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française'' in 1967 for '' Friday, or, The Other Island'' and the Prix Goncourt for '' The Erl-King'' i ...

, Jean-Maurice Rouquette * 1973 – 1976: Lucien Clergue * 1977: Bernard Perrine * 1978: Jacques Manachem * 1979 – 1982: Alain Desvergnes * 1983 – 1985: Lucien Clergue * 1986 – 1987: François Hébel * 1988 – 1989: Claude Hudelot * 1990: Agnès de Gouvion Saint-Cyr * 1991 – 1993: * 1994: Lucien Clergue * 1995 – 1998, délégué général: ** 1995, artistic director: ** 1996, artistic director: Joan Fontcuberta ** 1997, artistic director: ** 1998, artistic director: Giovanna Calvenzi * 1999 – 2001: Gilles Mora * 2002 – 2014: François Hébel * Since 2015:

The festival

Events

Opening week at the Rencontres d’Arles features photography-focused events (projections at night, exhibition tours, panel discussions, symposia, parties, book signings, etc.) in the town's historic venues, some of which are only open to the public during the festival. Memorable events in recent years include Europe Night (2008), an overview of European photography; Christian Lacroix's fashion show for the festival's closing (2008); and Patti Smith's concert for the Vu agency's 20th anniversary (2006).

Nights at the Roman Theatre

At night, work by a photographer or a photography expert is projected in the town's open-air Roman theatre accompanied by concerts and performances. Each event is a one-off creation. In 2009, 8,500 people attended evenings at the Roman theatre, an average of 2,000 a night, and 2,500 were there on closing night, when the Tiger Lilies played during a projection of Nan Goldin's “

The Ballad of Sexual Dependency ''The Ballad of Sexual Dependency'' is a 1985 slide show exhibition and 1986 artist's book publication of photographs taken between 1979 and 1986 by photographer Nan Goldin. It is an autobiographical document of a portion of New York City's No ...

”. In 2013 over 6,000 people attended the nighttime photography projections, an average of approximately 1,000 each night.

The Night of the Year

The Night of the Year, which was created in 2006, allows visitors to walk around and see the festival's favourite works by artists and photographers as well as carte blanche exhibitions by institutions.

Cosmos-Arles Books

Cosmos-Arles Books is a Rencontres d’Arles satellite event dedicated to new publishing practices. Over the past 15 years large-scale photographic publications, self-published books, and ebooks have become essential media for experimentation by photographers and artists. They allow photography to be rediscovered as a means of expression and distribution, providing a rich terrain of expression for the art's fundamentally hybrid forms.

Symposia and panel discussions

Photographers and professionals participating in symposia and panel discussions during opening week discuss their work or issues raised by the images on display. In recent years the themes included whether a black-and-white aesthetic is still conceivable in photography (2013); the impact of social networks on creativity and information (2011); breaking with past, a key idea for photography today (2009); photography commissions: freedom or constraint (2008); challenges and changes in the photography market (2007).

The Rencontres d’Arles awards

Since 2002 the Rencontres d’Arles awards have been an opportunity to discover new talents. In 2007 the number of annual awards was reduced to three, presented at the closing ceremony of the festival's professional week: the Discovery Award (€25,000), Author's Book Award (€8,000) and History Book Award (€8,000).

Luma Rencontres Dummy Book Award

In 2015 the Rencontres d’Arles offered an award to assist with the publication of a dummy book. Endowed with a €25,000 budget production budget, this new prize is open to all photographers and artists using photography who submit a dummy book that has never been published. The winner's book will be produced in autumn 2015 and be presented at the 2016 Rencontres d’Arles.

Photo Folio Review & Gallery

Since 2006 aspiring photographers have been able to submit their portfolios to international photography experts in various fields, including publishers, exhibition curators, heads of institutions, agency directors, gallery owners, collectors, critics and photo editors, for appraisal during the festival's opening week. Photo Folio Review & Gallery offers them an opportunity to show their work throughout the festival.

Photography classes

The Rencontres d’Arles has always been a place where professional photographers and practitioners on every level have been able to meet each other and exchange ideas. Each year, photography class participants undertake a personal journey of creation through photography's aesthetic, ethical and technological issues. Leading photographers such as Guy le Querrec, Antoine d’Agata, Martin Parr, René Burri and Joan Fontcuberta regularly teach at the Rencontres d’Arles.

Rentrée en Images

“Rentrée en Images” has been a key part of the festival's educational activities since 2004. During the first two weeks in September, special mediators take students from the primary to graduate school level on guided tours of the exhibitions. Based on the festival's programming, the event aims to introduce young people to the visual arts and fits in with a wider policy of cultural democratisation. “Rentrée en Images” reaches thousands of students, and for many of them it is their first exposure to contemporary art.

Women in Motion Photography Award

In 2019, the Women in Motion Photography Award was launched in cooperation with

Kering Kering () is a French-based multinational corporation specializing in luxury goods. It owns the brands Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Gucci, Alexander McQueen and Yves Saint Laurent. The timber-trading company Pinault S.A. was founded in 1963, by ...

to honour photographs raising awareness on gender imbalance in photography.

Budget

Public funding accounted for 40% of the 2015 festival's €6.3-million budget, sales (mainly of tickets and derivative products), 40% and private partnerships, 20%.

Executive committee

Hubert Védrine Hubert Védrine (; born 31 July 1947) is a French Socialist politician. He is an advisor at Moelis & Company. Early life and career Following a history degree and graduating from both Sciences Po and ENA, Védrine had toyed with the idea of ...

, president * Hervé Schiavetti, vice-president * Jean-François Dubos, vice-president * Marin Karmitz, treasurer * Françoise Nyssen, secretary *

, Jean-Maurice Rouquette,

, founding members

The Rencontres d'Arles award winners

2002

* Jury: Denis Curti, Alberto Anault,

Alice Rose George Alice Rose George (October 23, 1944 – December 22, 2020) was an American writer, poet, curator, and photography editor. Early life Alice Rose George was born in Silver Creek, Mississippi, the daughter of James George and Louise Fairman Geor ...

, Manfred Heiting,

Erik Kessels Erik Kessels (1966) is a Dutch artist, designer and curator with a particular interest in photography, and co-founder of KesselsKramer, an advertising agency in Amsterdam. Kessels and Johan Kramer established the "legendary and unorthodox" Kessels ...

, Claudine Maugendre, Val Williams * Discovery Award: Peter Granser * No Limit award: Jacqueline Hassink * Dialogue of the humanity award: Tom Wood * Photographer of the year award:

Roger Ballen Roger Ballen (born April 11, 1950) is an American artist living in Johannesburg, South Africa, and working in its surrounds since the 1970s. His oeuvre, which spans five decades, began with the documentary photography field but evolved into the ...

* Help to the project: Pascal Aimar, Chris Shaw * Author's Book Award: ''Sibusiso Mbhele and His Fish Helicopter'' by Koto Bolofo (

powerHouse Books powerHouse Books is an independent publisher of art and photography books founded in 1995 by Daniel Power, based near the Brooklyn waterfront of DUMBO in The powerHouse Arena. The powerHouse Arena also serves as a gallery, bookstore, and event ...

, 2002) * Help to publishing: ''Une histoire sans nom'' by Anne-Lise Broyer

2003

* Jury: Giovanna Calvenzi, Hou Hanru, Christine Macel, Anna Lisa Milella, Urs Stahel * Discovery Award: Zijah Gafic * No Limit award: Thomas Demand * Dialogue of the humanity award: Fazal Sheikh * Photographer of the year award: Anders Petersen * Help to the project: Jitka Hanzlova * Author's Book Award: ''Hide That Can'' by Deirdre O’Callaghan ( Trolley Books, 2002) * Help to publishing: ''A Personal Diary of Chinese Avant-Garde in the 1990s, China (1993–1998)'' by Xing Danwen

2004

* Jury: Eikoh Hosoe, Joan Fontcuberta,

Tod Papageorge Tod Papageorge (born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire United States, 1940) is an American photographer whose career began in the New York City street photography movement of the 1960s. He is the recipient of two Guggenheim fellowships and two NEA Visu ...

, Elaine Constantine, Antoine d’Agata * Discovery Award: Yasu Suzuka * No Limit award: Jonathan de Villiers * Dialogue of the humanity award:

Edward Burtynsky Edward Burtynsky (born February 22, 1955) is a Canadian photographer and artist known for his large format photographs of industrial landscapes. His works depict locations from around the world that represent the increasing development of indust ...

* Help to the project: John Stathatos * Author's Book Award: ''Particulars'' by

David Goldblatt David Goldblatt HonFRPS (29 November 1930 – 25 June 2018) was a South African photographer noted for his portrayal of South Africa during the period of apartheid.Weinberg, Paul.David Goldblatt: Photographer Who Found the Human in an Inhuman ...

(Goodman Gallery, 2003)

2005

* Jury: Ute Eskildsen, Jean-Louis Froment, Michel Mallard, Kathy Ryan, Marta Gili * Discovery Award:

Miroslav Tichý Miroslav Tichý (; November 20, 1926 – April 12, 2011) was a photographer who from the 1960s until 1985 took thousands of surreptitious pictures of women in his hometown of Kyjov in the Czech Republic, using homemade cameras constructed of ...

* No Limit award: Mathieu Bernard-Reymond * Dialogue of the humanity award: Simon Norfolk * Help to the project: Anna Malagrida * Author's Book Award: ''Temporary Discomfort (Chapter I-V)'' by Jules Spinatsch (Lars Müller Publishers, 2005)

2006

* Jury: Vincent Lavoie, Abdoulaye Konaté, Yto Barrada, Marc-Olivier Wahler, Alain d’Hooghe * Discovery Award: Alessandra Sanguinetti * No Limit award: Randa Mirza * Dialogue of the humanity award: Wang Qingsong * Help to the project: Walid Raad * Author's Book Award: ''Form aus Licht und Schatten'' by Heinz Hajek-Halke (

Steidl Steidl is a German-language publisher, an international publisher of photobooks, and a printing company, based in Göttingen, Germany. It was started in 1968 by Gerhard Steidl and is still run by him. Overview The company was started by Ger ...

, 2005)

2007

* Jury: Bice Curiger, Alain Fleischer, Johan Sjöström, Thomas Weski,

Anne Wilkes Tucker Anne Wilkes Tucker was an American museum curator of photographic works. She retired in June 2015. Life and work Tucker was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She received a B.A. in Art History from Randolph Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Vi ...

* Discovery Award: Laura Henno * Author's Book Award: ''Empty Bottles'' by WassinkLundgren (Thijs groot Wassink and Ruben Lundgren) (Veenman Publishers, 2007) * Historical Book Award: ''

László Moholy-Nagy László Moholy-Nagy (; ; born László Weisz; July 20, 1895 – November 24, 1946) was a Hungarian painter and photographer as well as a professor in the Bauhaus school. He was highly influenced by constructivism and a strong advocate of the ...

: Color in Transparency: Photographic Experiments in Color, 1934–1946'' by Jeannine Fiedler (

& Bauhaus-Archiv, 2006)

2008

* Jury: Elisabeth Biondi, Luis Venegas, Nathalie Ours, Caroline Issa and Massoud Golsorkhi, Carla Sozzani * Discovery Award: Pieter Hugo * Author's Book Award: ''Strange and Singular'' by Michael Abrams (Loosestrife, 2007) * Historical Book Award: ''Nein, Onkel: Snapshots from Another Front 1938–1945'' by Ed Jones and Timothy Prus ( Archive of Modern Conflict, 2007)

2009

* Jury: Lucien Clergue, Bernard Perrine, Alain Desvergnes, Claude Hudelot, Agnès de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, Louis Mesplé, Bernard Millet, Michel Nuridsany, Joan Fontcuberta, Christian Caujolle, Giovanna Calvenzi, Martin Parr, Christian Lacroix, Arnaud Claass, Christian Milovanoff * Discovery Award: Rimaldas Viksraitis * Author's Book Award: ''From Back Home'' by Anders Petersen and JH Engström (Bokförlaget Max Ström, 2009) * Historical Book Award: ''In History'' by

Susan Meiselas Susan Meiselas (born June 21, 1948) is an American documentary photographer. She has been associated with Magnum Photos since 1976 and been a full member since 1980. Currently she is the President of the Magnum Foundation. She is best known for h ...

(

and

International Center of Photography The International Center of Photography (ICP), at 79 Essex Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City, consists of a museum for photography and visual culture and a school offering an array of educational courses and programming. ...

, 2008)

2010

* Discovery Award:

Taryn Simon Taryn Simon (born February 4, 1975) is an American multidisciplinary artist who works in photography, text, sculpture, and performance. Currently residing and maintaining a studio practice in New York City, Simon has had work featured in the Ve ...

* LUMA award: Trisha Donnelly * Author's Book Award: ''Photography 1965–74'' by Yutaka Takanashi (Only Photograph, 2010) * Historical Book Award: ''Les livres de photographies japonais des années 1960 et 1970'' by Ryuichi Kaneko and Ivan Vartanian (Seuil, 2009)

2011

* Discovery Award:

Mikhael Subotzky Mikhael Subotzky (born Cape Town, South Africa, 1981) is a South African artist based in Johannesburg. His installation, film, video and photographic work have been exhibited widely in museums and galleries, and received awards including the KLM ...

and Patrick Waterhouse * Author's Book Award: ''A Living Man Declared Dead and Other Chapters'' by

( Mack, 2011) * Historical Book Award: ''Works'' by Lewis Baltz (

, 2010)

2012

* Discovery Award: Jonathan Torgovnik * Author's Book Award: ''Redheaded Peckerwood'' by Christian Patterson ( Mack, 2011) * Historical Book Award: ''Les livres de photographie d’Amérique latine'' by Horacio Fernández (Images en Manœuvres Éditions, 2011)

2013

* Discovery Award: Yasmine Eid-Sabbagh and Rozenn Quéré * Author's Book Award: ''Anticorps'' by Antoine d’Agata ( Xavier Barral & Le Bal, 2013) * Historical Book Award: ''AOI OD.19.1.1.43– A27 COD.23'' by Rosângela Rennó (Self-published, 2013)

2014

* Discovery Award: Zhang Kechun * Author's Book Award: ''Hidden Islam'' by Nicolò Degiorgis (Rorhof, 2014) * Historical Book Award: ''Paris mortel retouché'' by Johan van der Keuken (Van Zoetendaal Publishers, 2013)

2015

* Discovery Award: Pauline Fargue * Author's Book Award: ''H. said he loved us'' by Tommaso Tanini (Discipula Editions, 2014) * Historical Book Award: ''Monograph Vitas Luckus. Works & Biography'' by Margarita Matulytė and Tatjana Luckiene-Aldag (Kaunas Photography Gallery and Lithuanian Art Museum, 2014) * Dummy Book Award: ''The Jungle Book'' by Yann Gross * Photo Folio Review: Piero Martinelo (winner); Charlotte Abramow, Martin Essi, Elin Høyland, Laurent Kronenthal (special mentions)

2016

* Discovery Award: Sarah Waiswa * Author's Book Award: ''Taking Off. Henry My Neighbor'' by Mariken Wessels (Art Paper Editions, 2015) * Historical Book Award: ''(in matters of) Karl'' by Annette Behrens (Fw: Books, 2015) * Photo-Text Award: ''Negative Publicity: Artefacts of Extraordinary Rendition'' by Edmund Clark and Crofton Black (Aperture, 2015) * Dummy Book Award: ''You and Me: A project between Bosnia, Germany and the US'' by Katja Stuke and Oliver Sieber * Photo Folio Review: David Fathi (winner); Sonja Hamad, Eric Leleu, Karolina Paatos, Maija Tammi (special mentions) * Laureate Award: ''A History of Misogyny Chapter One: Abortion'' by Laia Abril

2017

* Discovery Award: Carlos Ayesta and Guillaume Bression * Author's Book Award: ''Ville de Calais'' by Henk Wildschut (self-published, 2017) ** Special Mention for Author's Book Award: ''Gaza Works'' by Kent Klich (Koenig, 2017) * Historical Book Award: ''Latif Al Ani'' by Latif Al Ani (Hannibal Publishing, 2017) * Photo-Text Award: ''The Movement of Clouds around Mount Fuji'' by Masanao Abe and Helmut Völter (Spector Books, 2016) * Dummy Book Award: ''Grozny: Nine Cities'' by Olga Kravets, Maria Morina, and Oksana Yushko * Photo Folio Review: Aurore Valade (winner); Haley Morris Cafiero, Alexandra Lethbridge, Charlotte Abramow, Catherine Leutenegger (special mentions)

2018

* Discovery Award: Paulien Oltheten * Author's Book Award: ''Photographic Treatment'' by Laurence Aëgerter ( Dewi Lewis Publishing, 2017) ** Special Mention for Author's Book Award: ''The Iceberg'' by Giorgio di Noto (Edition Patrick Frey, 2017) * Historical Book Award: ''The Pigeon Photographer'' by Julius Neubronner (Rorhof, 2017) * Photo-Text Award: ''War Primer 2'' by

Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin Adam Broomberg (born 1970) and Oliver Chanarin (born 1971) are artists living and working in London. Together they have had numerous international exhibitions. Their work is represented in major public and private collections. They were awarded th ...

( Mack Books, 2018) * Dummy Book Award: ''Phénomènes'' by Marina Gadonneix ** Special Mention for Dummy Book Award: ''State of Shame'' by Indrė Urbonaitė * Photo Folio Review: Kurt Tong (winner)

2019

* Discovery Award: Máté Bartha and Laure Tiberghien ** Audience Discovery Award: Alys Tomlinson * Author's Book Award: ''The Pillar'' by Stephen Gill (Nobody, 2019) * Historical Book Award: ''Enghelab Street, a Revolution through Books: Iran 1979–1983'' by Hannah Darabi (Spector Books and Le Bal, 2019) * Photo-Text Book Award: ''Dandaka'' by Vasantha Yogananthan (Chose Commune, 2018) ** Special Mention for Photo-Text Book Award: ''Parce Que'' by Sophie Calle (

Éditions Xavier Barral Éditions Xavier Barral is a French book publisher specialising in photography, architecture, contemporary art and science. It was founded in 2002 by Xavier Barral and based in Paris. Martin Parr has said of Éditions Xavier Barral that "Every boo ...

, 2018) * Dummy Book Award: ''The Poverty Line'' by Chow and Lin * Photo Folio Review: Anna Lim (winner)

References

External links

*
Leica Oskar Barnack Award
awarded by Leica Camera AG at Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie {{Authority control Photography in France Arles Photography exhibitions Photography festivals Arts festivals in France Art festivals in France