The Rencontres d’Arles photography festival opens today with a stunning programme of events. This is the second year that Sam Stourdzé has been in charge of the festival and he applies two principles: first, there is no central theme but instead a series of exhibitions that complement or indeed interact with one another, and secondly, the festival’s absolute priority is to support photographic creation by showing off the full array of its artistic expression. In other words, we won’t be subjected to the standard 50 cardboard prints.
Outside the official programme, the Luma Foundation will surprise with its flamboyancy while the Off festival comprises some 89 exhibitions, plus projections and portfolio reviews. In addition, around temporary 30 galleries will open for the summer. The city of Arles certainly celebrates photography but the same cannot be said of Chalon Sur Saône, Nice or Rodez, where cronyism is the name of the game for the mediocre culture departments. Add incompetence and intolerance into the mix and one of the best curators in France, François Cheval, and the birthplace of photography see their festival ruined. It’s a similar story in Nice, one of the rare spots on the Côte d’Azur devoted to photography, and in Rodez, where Photofolie, the friendly, feel-good festival, has had its €2,000 subsidy withdrawn.
FESTIVAL
Les Rencontres d’Arles
From July 4th to September 25th, 2016
13200 Arles
France
http://www.rencontres-arles.com
