Kering and the Rencontres d’Arles

Rencontres d’Arles 2024, Beneath the surface

Founded over 50 years ago, the Rencontres d’Arles festival has become a flagship cultural event that promotes the institutional recognition of photography and dissemination of its rich legacy. 
In 2023, this summer entry on the international event calendar hosted 145,000 visitors in search of established talent and emerging artists. 
Organized around the theme Sous la surface ("Beneath the Surface") and running from July 1 to September 29, 2024, the 55^th edition is sprinkled with notions of upheaval, spirits traces, parallel readings and re-readings that permeate the work of the more than 130 photographers, artists and curators presented. This year, among the forty-something exhibits installed in a variety of extraordinary venues across the Provencal city, Japan is given pride of place with four solo and group exhibits.

Women In Motion at Rencontres d’Arles: Honoring Women Photographers

In 2016, one year after launching the Women In Motion program at the Festival de Cannes, Kering expanded its commitment to women artists by supporting the Madame Figaro Award for Photography at Rencontres d’Arles for the first time. In 2019, Group became a partner of Rencontres d’Arles and Women In Motion joined the festival program. Together, they introduced the Women In Motion Award for Photography to raise the profile of women photographers. The Women In Motion Lab was also created in 2019 as a program to support projects that bring attention to women in photography. 
The Women In Motion Award for Photography was bestowed on Susan Meiselas in 2019, Sabine Weiss in 2020, Liz Johnson Artur in 2021, Babette Mangolte in 2022 and Rosângela Rennó last year.

This year, in addition to handing out the Women In Motion Award for Photography, the Kering program will shine a light on Japanese women photographers. It is dedicating the third edition of its Lab to them and supporting their first group exhibition in France, Quelle Joie de Vous Revoir ("I’m So Happy You Are Here"), as well as the first book published on their craft since the 1950s. As part of the Arles Associé program, Women In Motion is also backing the “Transcendance” exhibit which features the points of view of six Japanese women photographers as a parallel to the Kyotographie festival. 

2024 Women In Motion Award given to Ishiuchi Miyako

AT THE ROMAN THEATER IN ARLES
1 Rue du Cloître
13200 Arles
 

On Tuesday, 2 July 2024, Kering and Rencontres d’Arles presented the Women In Motion Award to Japanese photographer Ishiuchi Miyako, at the Roman Theater in Arles, at the opening night of the Rencontres. The event is an opportunity to present her body of work and share with the public her journey and her take on the role of women in photography and society.
The issue of women’s representation is addressed subtly but powerfully in the work of Ishiuchi Miyako, who critiques the objectification of women by taking the female body as the topic of her art. Her photos celebrate imperfections, scars and age, as opposed to the beauty canons set forth by the media. Through her artistic practices, Ishiuchi Miyako embodies the principles of women’s emancipation by advocating for their autonomy and for better representation. In her photographs, she never stops provoking a dialogue on gender, culture and memory in contemporary society.
 

"Belongings" exhibit
 

SALLE HENRI-COMTE
Rue de l'Hôtel de ville
13200 Arles
 

 In her depictions of intimate scenes, Ishiuchi Miyako invites viewers to question their own perception of femininity, feminine and the role of women. Through projects such as "ひろしま/hiroshima" and "Mother’s", the photographer tackles Japan's wartime past and its impact on individuals, especially women, who are generally ignored in the annals of history. "Belongings", the photographer's first solo show, is being held at Salle Henri-Comte for the duration of the festival. 

Ishiuchi Miyako

Ishiuchi Miyako was born in Gunma prefecture. In 1979, she won the Fourth Kimura Ihei Prize for her work, "Apartment". In 2005, she represented Japan at the Venice Biennale with her "Mother's" series. In 2007, she began the world renowned series "hiroshima" for which she photographed items that belonged to victims of the atomic bomb. In 2013, she received Japan's Medal of Honor and in 2014 she won the Hasselblad Award, known as the Nobel Prize of photography. In 2022, she received the Asahi Award, a distinction that honors people who have achieved extraordinary accomplishments in academia and the arts and who have made significant contributions to the development and progress of Japan's culture and society. In 2023, as part of the Kyotographie international photography festival, of which Kering is a partner, the Group backed the "Views Through My Window" exhibition, a dialogue between her work and the work of Yuhki Touyama. 

2024 Women In Motion Lab: “Quelle joie de vous voir, photographes japonaises des années 1950 à nos jours” ("I'm So Happy You Are Here, Japanese Women Photographers from the 1950s to Now")

ARCHBISHOP'S PALACE
35 Place de la République
13200 Arles

The Women In Motion Lab is an initiative designed to provide tangible support for research projects and projects to promote female talent; this year, the spotlight is on Japanese women photographers. The first group show devoted to their history in France, “Quelle joie de vous voir, photographes japonaises des années 1950 à nos jours” ("I'm So Happy You Are Here, Japanese Women Photographers from the 1950s to Now") presents the work of twenty-five photographers, including Rinko Kawauchi, Yurie Nagashima, Kunié Sugiura, Tokuko Ushioda and Eiko Yamazawa. This installation at the Archbishop's Palace was produced by Aperture and Rencontres d'Arles, and curated by Lesley A. Martin, Mariko Takeuchi and Pauline Vermare. Together with Carrie Cushman and Kellie Midori McCormick, they edited the first book on the subject, Femmes Photographes Japonaises des Années 1950 à nos Jours, published in June by Textuel in French and by Aperture in English (I'm So Happy You Are Here, Japanese Women Photographers from the 1950s to Now) and supported by Kering and Rencontres d'Arles as part of the Women In Motion Lab. 
The Lab's first project, from 2019 to 2021, funded the research that led to the publication of a reference work, Une histoire mondiale des femmes photographes, as well as its English edition, A World History of Women Photographers. For its second project, launched in 2021, Kering and Rencontres d'Arles sponsored research into Bettina Grossman's archives by artist Yto Barrada, which was published in Bettina, and presented in an exhibition at the festival in 2022.
 

Kering supports "Transcendance, Kyotographie Celebrates Contemporary Japanese Women Photographers"

VAGUE
14 rue de Grille
13200 Arles

Featuring works by Mayumi Hosokura, Ai Iwane, Mayumi Suzuki, Hideka Tonomura and Tamaki Yoshida, this exhibition of contemporary photographers, co-produced by Sigma, offers a glimpse into the modern complexities of Japanese society. From intimate portraits to evocative landscapes and poetic experiments, these six photographers bring their personal and collective experiences to life, showing the resilience, creativity and diversity of women who use photography to survive and express themselves. Inspired by "10/10 Celebrating Contemporary Japanese Women Photographers", an exhibition backed by Kering and presented at Kyotographie in 2022 to celebrate the festival's tenth anniversary, “Transcendance” continues the story, with curators Nakanishi Yusuke and Lucille Reyboz, of this chorus of women photographers who dare to transcend their reality, thanks to the power of photography.  
 

From its inception in 1970 by the Arlesian photographer Lucien Clergue, the writer Michel Tournier and the historian Jean‑Maurice Rouquette, the Rencontres d'Arles quickly became a mainstay in the world of photography. Year after year, photography which was previously regarded as a "minor" art, would gain significant critical acclaim through the festival.

For over half a century, its global-reaching line-up embraces artistic engagement and eclecticism to reflect the state of the world. The 54th edition centers on the idea of "a state of consciousness" as a nod to the transformations we are experiencing. Like a seismograph of our times, the event brings together photographers, artists and curators to capture these profound changes from July 3 to September 24.

Women In Motion and the Rencontres d'Arles announced their partnership in 2016. To mark the occasion, for the first time, the program supported the Prix de la Photo Madame Figaro. In 2019, Kering strengthened its partnership with the Rencontres d'Arles, extending the Women In Motion program to the festival’s calendar. Together, they created the Women In Motion Award for photography, which aims to shine a light on women photographers. 2019 also saw the creation of Women In Motion Lab , an initiative providing tangible support for any project showcasing women in photography.

The Women In Motion Award for photography was previously awarded to Susan Meiselas in 2019, Sabine Weiss in 2020, Liz Johnson Artur in 2021 and Babette Mangolte in 2022. 

As the program celebrates five years of collaborating with the Rencontres d’Arles, Kering is pleased to renew its commitment to the festival for another five years as one of the Main Partners. 

Introducing the Rosângela Rennó exhibition: "On the ruins of photography" 

La Mécanique Générale

Curated by Maria Angélica Melendi, "On the ruins of photography" is the first major monograph organized in France on the Brazilian's work. 

Interested in "the way the system tries to erase or manipulate links with the past," the photographer appropriates and transforms archival photographic material into an art installation or a book of photography. Her work is a detailed exploration of time, of forgetting, and the social and psychological changes that affect memory.

Rosângela Rennó wins the 2022 Women In Motion Award for photography 

Théâtre Antique

On Tuesday July 4, 2023, during the first evening event at the Théâtre Antique in Arles, Kering and the Rencontres d’Arles presented the fifth Women In Motion Award for photography to the Brazilian photographer Rosângela Rennó. 

Rosângela Rennó was born in 1962 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. She currently lives and works in Rio de Janeiro. Her work on photographs, objects and installations is characterized by the investigation of different politics of the photographic representation and absorption and of the relations between memory and forgetfulness, by appropriating images from diverse sources, from fleamarkets and internet photos to institutional archives. Precarious, abandoned photographic archives and even 'dead files' have led her to engage herself on clarifying and fighting the recurring narratives of erasure and ‘structural ignorance,’ used as a strategy of historical amnesia and exclusion of a large part of the population, especially in Brazil and South Global countries. She also dedicates herself to the creation of videos and artist’s books, always in the same conceptual basis.

Listen to Rosângela Rennó on the latest Women In Motion podcast episode

The Brazilian photographer is the most recent figure to record an episode of the Women In Motion podcast. Since 2019, the podcast offers a platform for women working in culture and the arts. From season to season, they talk us through their journeys, experiences, their views and more generally, on the status of women in society in industries that remain affected by disparities.

Discover the Women In Motion podcast

Supporting the Agnès Varda exhibition "La Pointe Courte, from photographs to film"

Cloître Saint-Trophime

Women In Motion proudly supports "La Pointe Courte, from photographs to film," an exhibition curated by Carole Sandrin, assisted by Elisa Magnani of the Institut pour la photographie. Created with the approval of Rosalie Varda and the Ciné-Tamaris team, the exhibition presents photographs taken by Agnès Varda in the summer of 1954 before and during the shooting of her film entitled "La Pointe Courte."

Hannah Darabi wins the Prix de la Photo Madame Figaro Arles 

Théâtre Antique

To further contribute to the recognition of women’s talent, Women In Motion has supported the Prix de la Photo Madame Figaro Arles since its creation in 2016. Each year, the Award recognizes a woman photographer for her creative excellence and daring. The 2023 Prix de la Photo Madame Figaro Arles was awarded to the young iranian photographer, Hannah Darabi. For the first time, a special jury mention was awarded to Riti Sengupta.

In an effort to fight inequality between women and men in the world of cinema, Kering in 2015 founded Women In Motion, a program highlighting the work of women in all areas of filmmaking. Women In Motion now spans several artistic and cultural disciplines, including photography since 2016 through the Prix de la Photo Madame Figaro-Arles.

In 2019, Kering partnered with Rencontres d’Arles, extending the Women In Motion program to the festival’s calendar. Together, they created the Women In Motion Award for photography, which aims to shine a light on women photographers. It was previously awarded to Susan Meiselas in 2019, Sabine Weiss in 2020 and Liz Johnson Artur in 2021. 2019 also saw the creation of Women In Motion Lab, an initiative providing tangible support for any project showcasing women in photography.

Follow the latest news from the Women In Motion program, live from Rencontres d’Arles 2022 and focused on the theme “Visible or invisible, a summer revealed”. 

Babette Mangolte wins the 2022 Women In Motion Award for photography

Théâtre Antique

Kering and Rencontres d’Arles present the fourth Women In Motion Award for photography to Babette Mangolte. Born in France in 1941 and based in New York since the 1970s, Babette Mangolte is a filmmaker, photographer, artist, and author of critical essays on photography. 

‘Capturing Movement in Space’ – an exhibition by Babette Mangolte

Église Sainte-Anne

Curated by María Inés Rodríguez, this solo exhibition showcases the photographic and cinematic language developed by Babette Mangolte. That language is based on the camera’s subjectivity, the viewer’s central role and the human body’s relationship to space. Mangolte’s work documents the choreography and performances of Yvonne Rainer, Trisha Brown, Joan Jonas, Robert Morris, Lucinda Childs, Marina Abramović, Steve Paxton, and the 1970s theater scene in New York City.

To mark the occasion, a special supplement in the Women In Motion collection published by Fisheye magazine will be dedicated to Babette Mangolte and feature commentaries by leading experts on the cultural scene.

‘Cartographies Du Corps’ – an exhibition by Susan Meiselas and Marta Gentilucci

Église Saint-Blaise

At Rencontres d’Arles 2022, Women In Motion is supporting an exhibition by Susan Meiselas – the first winner of the Women In Motion Award for photography – in collaboration with the composer Marta Gentilucci. Joining forces, the two artists have sought to capture elderly//mature women in images and sound, focusing in particular on their skin and gestures that reflect their engagement with life. As such, their work captures the vital force that inhabits their bodies, the intensity of a life well-lived and the enduring hope for the time that remains, a counterpoint to representations of old age as an absence of opportunity, a time of illness, loneliness, and deprivation.

‘Bettina. A poem of perpetual renewal’ – an exhibition by Bettina Grossman

Henri-Comte space

For the second edition of the Women In Motion LAB, Kering and Rencontres d’Arles wished to support the efforts of artist Yto Barrada to promote Bettina Grossman's archives. After conducting a major research project, Barrada presents an exceptional body of photographic, cinematographic, and graphic work by the artist, who was inspired by conceptual sculpture. This marks the first retrospective dedicated to the late American artist.

Publication of A World History of Women Photographers

The first edition of the Women In Motion LAB, from 2019 to 2021, highlighted the contribution of women to the world history of photography. Led by historians Luce Lebart and Marie Robert, with the help of 160 women authors from every continent, the project spotlights the careers and works of approximately 300 women who have left their mark on photography since the art form began. The project led to a book Une histoire mondiale des femmes photographes, published by Textuel.

An English-language version of the book, A World History of Women Photographers, also supported by the LAB, was published in July by Thames & Hudson. 

Amina Kadous wins the Prix de la Photo Madame Figaro Arles

Théâtre Antique

To further contribute to the recognition of women’s talent, Women In Motion has supported the Prix de la Photo Madame Figaro Arles since its creation in 2016. Each year, the Award recognizes a woman photographer for her creative excellence and daring. The 2022 Prix de la Photo Madame Figaro Arles was awarded to the young egyptian photographer Amina Kadous.

The jury, chaired this year by Virginie Effira, included Caroline de Maigret, Kamel Mennour, Nicolas Di Felice, Rebecca Zlotowski, Jean-Pierre Blanc, Brigitte Lacombe, Souheila Yacoub, Anne-Florence Schmitt, editorial director of Madame Figaro, Jean-Sébastien Stehli, deputy director, and Gwenola Couëdel, creative director.

‘Anima’ – a performance/installation by Noémie Goudal and Maëlle Poésy

Collection Lambert, Avignon

Created for the Festival d’Avignon, in collaboration with Rencontres d'Arles and with support from Women In Motion, ‘Anima’ is a performance/installation created by Noémie Goudal and Maëlle Poésy. ‘Anima’ nods to Noémie Goudal’s exhibition “Phoenix,” presented at the Chapelle des Trinitaires during the Rencontres d'Arles 2022. To express the invisible metamorphoses of the landscapes and places we share, ‘Anima’ depicts a woman artist suspended within a video and music installation.

Women In Motion and the Rencontres d’Arles

In an effort to fight inequality between women and men in the world of cinema, Kering founded Women In Motion in 2015. The program is a showcase for the work of women in film. Convinced that creativity and culture are powerful drivers for change, the Group extended the program to photography in 2016 by sponsoring the Madame Figaro Arles Photography Award. In 2019, Kering partnered up with the Rencontres d’Arles, extending the Women In Motion program to the festival. Together, they created the Women 
In Motion LAB  and the Women In Motion Award for Photography, which aims to shine a light on women photographers. The first Women In Motion Award for Photography went to American photographer, Susan Meiselas. 

This third Award for Photography is presented to Russian-Ghanaian artist, Liz Johnson Artur. Born in 1964, Liz Johnson Artur is a Russian-Ghanaian photographer, based in London. Since 1991, Liz Johnson Artur has compiled a body of work dedicated to the African diaspora worldwide, brought together in her Black Balloon Archive. These dynamic documentary photographs, in black and white and in color, paint a complex picture of Black identities. Her work rejects all the usual clichés and reflects the ability of the ‘subjects’ she photographs to decide for themselves how they should look. 
 

“ What interests me are the people, the people I don’t see represented anywhere else. ”

Liz Johnson Artur

Women in Motion podcast 

During the awards ceremony, Liz Johnson Artur recorded an episode for the Women In Motion podcast to encourage reflection on the representation of minorities and black people. In an interview with Géraldine Sarratia, she shares her vision of Photography, interpreted as a dialogue. Johnson Artur takes an ethical approach where the photographed subject is “in good company.” Happy listening!

Discover the other episodes of the Women In Motion podcast