For its third Arles edition, FUJIKINA continues to establish itself as a fixture of the summer photography calendar. Launched by Fujifilm and already staged in cities including Tokyo, New York, Berlin and Madrid, the event has found particularly fertile ground in Arles. After attracting more than 7,500 visitors across its first two editions, it returns from 6 to 11 July with the same ambition: to bring exhibitions, education, experimentation and photographic practice into dialogue.
While retaining its hybrid identity as a festival, a laboratory and a meeting place, FUJIKINA is further strengthening its ties to the Arles photography ecosystem this year. Through partnerships with Les Rencontres d’Arles, the École nationale supérieure de la photographie (ENSP), the Arles OFF festival, Magnum Photos, World Press Photo and the Tendance Floue collective, the event brings together a remarkably diverse range of photographic voices under one roof.
One of the highlights of this year’s programme is undoubtedly Las Calles: In Spirit of Youth, an exhibition by Alex Webb. Invited for the third consecutive year via FUJIKINA’s partnership with Magnum Photos, the American photographer presents a selection combining iconic images with more recent work produced in Mexico. For over five decades, Webb has wandered the country’s streets, drawn to their intricate interplay of shadow and light, saturated colours and enigmatic encounters. Particular attention is given here to Mexican youth, portrayed in images where documentary observation occasionally slips into something more dreamlike and surreal. Bringing together archival material and previously unseen photographs, the exhibition offers a journey through one of the most celebrated bodies of work in contemporary colour photography.
Surrounding Webb’s exhibition is a series of projects reflecting the breadth of approaches championed by the event. Tendance Floue members Yohanne Lamoulère and Alain Willaume enter into dialogue through work produced during residencies in the United States and Japan respectively. Baptiste Vitorino, the first recipient of the Fujifilm Technical Excellence Award created in partnership with the ENSP, presents a project exploring the boundaries between materiality and fiction. Julien Rocheblave revisits the mythology of Mount Fuji, while Boby continues his colourful exploration of everyday life. World Press Photo is also present through an exhibition dedicated to the Joop Swart Masterclass alongside a number of public programmes.
Yet FUJIKINA’s distinctive character arguably lies in its format. Far more than an exhibition programme, the event unfolds through more than eighty activities, including talks, workshops, portfolio reviews, photowalks, technical demonstrations, equipment loans and artist encounters. Located in the historic Hôtel Quiqueran de Beaujeu, visitors can move seamlessly between exhibitions, portfolio reviews, hands-on experiences with cameras and discussions on contemporary image-making. It is an approach that treats photography not only as something to be viewed, but as a practice to be shared.
Zoé Isle de Beauchaine
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