During opening week at the Rencontres d’Arles, the evening programs are comprised of unique works organized at the Théâtre Antique. The programs feature a photographer’s work, or the work of a photography specialist. Since 2002, these evenings have been organized by Olivier Koechlin with Valéry Faidherbe, François Girard and Manuel Braun (The Coïncidence company). Directed by Claudine Maugendre and Aurélien Valette, The Night of the Year, created in 2005, provides visitors with a free pedestrian trail featuring stands by various photography professionals (magazines, agencies, associations…). Yan Morvan’s Oeil de La Lettre will be presented after every evening’s intermission. The opening week of the 2011 edition also features a rich and diverse program.
• Tuesday, July 5
The first evening projection is divided into three parts. First the presentation of the Oskar-Barnack-Leica Prize to Danish photographer Jan Grarup for his work Haiti Aftermath. The world premiere projection of Trisha Ziff’s “The Mexican Suitcase” will follow, before closing with a screening of the first episode of A Little Mexican Story: Mexican experts will participate in discussions throughout the first three evenings of screenings at the Théâtre Antique, each evoking a meaningful element of Mexican history.
• Wednesday July 6
The European Publisher’s Award for Photography will be presented on Wednesday, July 6, allowing spectators to discover the new winner and to revisit the work of last year’s laureate Christophe Agou. The evening will then be devoted to the memory of Roger Thérond in an evening-long homage orchestrated by Jean-Jacques Naudet, Guillaume Clavières and Marc Brincourt, followed by a presentation of the VII Agency and the Tendance Floue assocation.
• Thursday July 7
The first half of this evening features pictures from the Prix Découverte des Rencontres d’Arles 2011 selected by five nominators from this year’s selection (Simon Baker, senior photography curator for London’s Tate Modern, Chris Boot, New York Aperture Foundation general director, Sam Stourdzé, Lausanne’s Elysée Museum director, David Barriet, David Benassayag, Béatrice Didier, three founders and directors of the Point du Jour art center / publisher in Cherbourg, and Artur Walther, collector and founder of the Walther Collection in New-Ulm, Germany). The evening’s projection is devoted to the Prix Pictet, with the 2011 winner, Mitch Epstein. The second episode of the “Little Mexican Story” will close this third evening.
• Friday July 8
For the seventh edition, the Night of the Year will take place after 9pm in the exceptional arena setting for a festive photographic journey through the year in pictures presented by magazines, agencies, and photo associations showing their year’s work on 14 screens.
• Saturday July 9
For the final evening of the 2011 edition, a giant projection will feature the work of JR. His work combines art and action, treating subjects ranging from commitment to freedom, identity, and limits. JR uses the street to expose his pictures, attracting the attention of spectators unaccustomed to museums. The final episode of “The Little Mexican Story” will be projected before presenting the winners of the Prix Découverte and Prix Luma with a retrospective of 10 years of Rencontres d’Arles Awards.
Ericka Weidmann
