For its 57th edition, themed “Life,” the Rencontres de la photographie d’Arles is showcasing photographers from the African continent and the Mediterranean region.
It sets the tone. The festival poster, designed by Ghanaian photographer Carlos Idun-Tawiah, heralds an edition that opens its doors to artists from across the African continent. One of the main sections of the program, “Independences,” will feature a group exhibition titled “Ghana: Dreaming of Independence, 1957–1976,” showcasing works by historic artists such as James Barnor and contemporary photographers. Ivorian photographer Paul Kodjo, who passed away in 2021, will be the focus of a solo exhibition “Photoromance,” which will undoubtedly showcase the scope of a body of work that immortalized the spirit of Ivorian youth in the post-independence years, much like that of Malian photographer Malick Sidibé. Among the other photographers from the continent is Sammy Baloji from the Congo, who will present a history of the Katanga secession in the 1960s, a few weeks after the independence of Congo-Kinshasa. Visitors will discover the collage and photomontage work of South African photographer Thato Toeba in an exhibition titled “Anyone Can Be Lucifer,” as well as the fourth chapter of Katia Kameli’s project Le Roman algérien [The Algerian Novel], centered on the generation of Algerian writer Assia Djebar.
Courtesy of the artists.
The Mediterranean Exhibitions
As a partner of this 57th edition, Diptyk magazine will cover the three exhibitions of the Mediterranean Season, including Katia Kameli’s show, as well as “Mediterranean, Is This Where We Used to Live?” by Anne-Lise Broyer, which explores the motif of ruins—her work having been on view at the French Institute in Tangier in the summer of 2024—and “Tar: Tangier – Cape Town” by Bruno Boudjelal, who spent five years traversing the asphalt roads of the African continent and whose “Off-center compositions and blurry photographs evoke a sense of time standing still”.
Two other sections of the In program—which features no fewer than 46 exhibitions—will showcase artists from the continent and the Global South. The “Uncertain Archives” section features Senegalese photographer Omar Victor Diop, who, in collaboration with Lee Shulman and The Anonymous Project, presents the series Being There, in which he inserts himself into anonymous photographs of American families from the 1950s and 1960s.
William Klein, Martin Parr, and Harry Gruyaert
The Louis Roederer Foundation Discovery Prize, curated by the Franco-Beninese artist Nadine Hounkpatin, honors seven winners, including Souleymane Bachir Diaw of Senegal. His project “Sutura” (meaning “modesty” in Wolof and “sewing” in Latin) seeks to show how fabrics can also reveal family memories and cultural legacies. Fondation H presents the series (Tsy) Possible by Franco-Cameroonian photographer Charlotte Yonga. First exhibited in 2024 at the Yosr Ben Ammar Gallery in Tunis, the series Bent El Machta by Tunisian photographer Amira Lamti, which focuses on wedding rituals in the Tunisian Sahel, will also be one of the highlights of this award dedicated to emerging artists.
Among the leading figures in international photography, we should also mention the exhibitions dedicated to William Klein—marking the centennial of his birth—Martin Parr, Harry Gruyaert—whose exhibition “A Sense of Place” will bring together his most iconic series—and the African-American photographer Ming Smith. As we prepare to celebrate the bicentennial of photography, we can only rejoice that photographers from the Global South are making a remarkable debut at this must-see event in the world of photography.
Olivier Rachet
The Rencontres de la photographie d’Arles, July 6–October 4, 2026, throughout the city.
