On Tuesday, July 8, 2025, Kering and Les Rencontres d’Arles will present the Women In Motion Prize to American artist Nan Goldin at the Théâtre Antique in Arles.
The last time Nan Goldin spoke to me was 50 years ago. Since then, she’s turned her head away, and she’s right.
It is 1975 at PHOTO, 65 Champs-Élysées. At the time, photographers showed up without an appointment.
The hostess calls me: “A young woman would like to see you.”
The young woman is surprising, her outfit even more so: punk, some would say a few years later.
It’s Nan Goldin. She’s completely unknown and has never been published. From an improbable bag, she pulls out photographs.
Eric Colmet-Daâge, the artistic director, and I were stunned: the power of her images was incredible.
We were in the final stages of finishing the issue, and we decided to change everything and devote a 16-page portfolio to her: the nirvana of the time.
Eric created a preliminary mockup, and we asked Nan to come back an hour later, just long enough to show Roger Thérond the change and our incredible discovery.
And then, the incomprehensible happened.
Roger, who had never shown the slightest disagreement with our photographic choices, refused the feature with rare violence.
We insisted: it got worse, he took the mockup and threw it across his office.
An hour later, I returned her images to Nan.
Her gaze was filled with sadness and contempt. She never spoke to me again.
Jean-Jacques Naudet
During the evening, she will present her work and share with the public moments in her career and her perspective on society. An exhibition of her work, Syndrome de Stendhal, supported by Women In Motion, will be dedicated to her at the Saint-Blaise church in Arles.
Through her work, Nan Goldin has represented women outside of patriarchal norms, as well as communities in the shadows. Through her intimate and raw portraits, she deconstructs gender stereotypes and highlights the realities of domestic violence, desire, and marginalization. Her iconic work, The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, created between 1980 and 1986, bears witness to the complexity of romantic relationships and power, giving a voice to women and the invisible. By denouncing oppression and celebrating emancipation, Nan Goldin is fully committed to a concerned approach.
Nan Goldin said: “It is a tremendous honor to receive this award. I am very proud to be associated with these exceptional women photographers, for whom I have great respect and deep admiration. I have a long history with Arles, particularly in the 1980s, a period that profoundly influenced my work and the beginnings of my career. Since then, I have returned there several times, and it is a great joy to be back here today.”
The work Stendhal Syndrome, which will be exhibited at the Rencontres d’Arles, is presented in the form of a slideshow juxtaposing images of masterpieces of classical, Renaissance, and Baroque art with portraits of Nan Goldin’s friends and lovers. The structure of the work is inspired by Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The artist’s loved ones are represented as mythological figures such as Galatea, Orpheus, and Hermaphrodite. Nan Goldin’s voice blends with a captivating soundtrack specifically composed by Soundwalk Collective, to which is added a musical creation by Mica Levi. The work culminates in a reinterpretation of the famous Stendhal Syndrome, illustrating that dizzying moment when beauty, in all its intensity, can lead to fainting.
Kering, a partner of the Rencontres d’Arles since 2019, launched the Women In Motion Prize for Photography that same year, while continuing to support emerging talents through the Prix de la Photo Madame Figaro Arles, which it has supported since 2016. The Women In Motion Prize recognizes the career of an iconic photographer each year. In 2024, Kering renewed its commitment to the festival, of which it is now a Major Partner.
The Women In Motion Prize for Photography was awarded to Susan Meiselas in 2019, Sabine Weiss in 2020, Liz Johnson Artur in 2021, Babette Mangolte in 2022, Rosângela Rennó in 2023, and Ishiuchi Miyako in 2024.
About Nan Goldin
Born in 1953 in Washington, D.C., Nan Goldin currently lives and works between New York and Paris.
Nan Goldin revolutionized the art of photography with her uncompromising and deeply intimate approach to portraiture. Over the past 45 years, she has created some of the most influential images of our time. Since the 1970s, her work has explored notions of gender, normalcy, and community. Her retrospective, This Will Not End, consisting of six slide shows, opened at the Moderna Museet in Stockholm in the fall of 2022, then traveled to the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin. It will continue in the fall of 2025 at the Pirelli Hangar Bicocca in Milan, and in 2026 at the Grand Palais, her final stop. Nan Goldin has received numerous awards, including the Hasselblad Prize (2007) and the Edward MacDowell Medal (2012). She was made a Commander of Arts and Letters by the French Ministry of Culture in 2006.
About Women In Motion
Kering’s commitment to women is a core priority for the Group and extends, through Women In Motion, to the arts and culture sector, where gender inequality persists, even though creativity is one of the most powerful vectors for change.
In 2015, Kering launched Women In Motion at the Cannes Film Festival with the aim of highlighting the talent of women in film, both in front of and behind the camera. The program has since expanded to other artistic fields, notably photography.
The program recognizes inspiring figures and emerging female talents through its Awards. Its Talks and Podcasts provide a forum for prominent figures to share their perspectives on the representation of women in their professional environments. In 2025, with the anniversary of the creation of Women In Motion, a pioneering program promoting gender equality, Kering celebrates 10 years of highlighting the talent of women in the arts and culture.
About Kering
As a global Luxury group, Kering manages the development of a series of iconic Houses in Fashion, Leather Goods, and Jewelry: Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, McQueen, Brioni, Boucheron, Pomellato, Dodo, Qeelin, and Ginori 1735, as well as Kering Eyewear and Kering Beauté. By placing creativity at the heart of its strategy, Kering enables its Houses to push their limits in terms of creative expression while crafting sustainable and responsible Luxury. This is the meaning of our signature: Empowering Imagination.
THÉÂTRE ANTIQUE
July 8, 2025
9:45 PM – MIDNIGHT
15 euros
https://www.rencontres-arles.com/en
https://www.rencontres-arles.com/en/expositions
https://billetterie.rencontres-arles.com/prestation/Expositions.html?process=2#
