The arts district of Plateforme 10 in Lausanne (Switzerland) will come alive with the Nuit des images on Saturday, June 22, 2024, from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Five years after its last edition, this iconic event of Lausanne’s cultural scene is making a grand return, organized by Photo Elysée. Attracting a diverse audience, from knowledgeable enthusiasts to curious amateurs of all ages, the evening celebrates photography in various forms.
Large projections will illuminate the facades of the museums (MCBA, mudac, and Photo Elysée), showcasing photographic series by Swiss and international artists, all deeply rooted in current events. Photo Elysée will also unveil three new exhibitions, including a tribute to Sabine Weiss, with a contemporary interpretation of her work by the French artist Nathalie Boutté.
The Nuit des images, formerly known as Nuit de la photo, originated from a bold initiative by Charles-Henri Favrod, founder of the Musée de l’Elysée. Organized in collaboration with the magazine L’Hebdo and the Cinémathèque suisse, the Nuit de la photo combined photography, dance, jazz, and cinema with projections in the museum’s gardens.
From its first edition in 1987, international artists were invited. Among them, Nan Goldin presented her “visual diary,” The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, through a series of slides projected on a large screen. After a hiatus in 1994, the event was relaunched in 1996 under the direction of William A. Ewing, before adopting the name Nuit des images in 2011 under the impetus of Sam Stourdzé. This event has continued to draw crowds with exhibitions and artistic performances, confirming its status as a major cultural rendezvous in Lausanne.
In this new edition, visitors will be able to contemplate thematic projections of works that invite reflection on our relationship with images and their impact on our understanding of the world. Among the artists presented, Marina Caneve, in her project On the ground among the animals, probes the complex relationship between biodiversity conservation, human infrastructure, and the freedom of animal movement within Natura 2000 sites.
The series Nothing Personal – the back office of war by Nikita Teryoshin, reveals the striking contrast between the glamorous and sanitized backstage of the global military defense trade, illustrating the hypocrisy of an industry that sells war under the guise of peace and technological progress. In Concrete Horsemen, Cian Oba-Smith studies the historical contribution of African Americans to equestrian culture, challenging racial and social stereotypes.
The short film My Life in the Sunshine by Noha Mokhtar explores the representation of the world and individuality on social media. The disappearance of Swiss glaciers will be addressed through historical photographs from the Photo Elysée collection, taken between 1880 and 1965, and extracted from the exhibition Regarder le glacier s’en aller, which will be seen throughout the summer in various regions of Switzerland.
A meeting with Antoine d’Agata will be one of the highlights of this edition. An exclusive projection tracing more than three decades of his work will be followed by a live conversation between the photographer and Nathalie Herschdorfer, director of Photo Elysée. Another highlight will be the opening of an exhibition dedicated to Sabine Weiss within the museum. In tribute to the emblematic figure of humanist photography, who passed away in December 2021, the exhibition will mark the centenary of her birth (1924-2021). On this occasion, the French artist Nathalie Boutté will offer a contemporary interpretation of her work.
Photo Elysée will also host the first institutional exhibition of Swiss artist Tamara Janes, titled Set and Setting, which humorously explores the legal implications of image appropriation. As for the Signal L space, Lausanne-based photographer Olga Cafiero will take over the venue in collaboration with the Naturéum. Through “(In)Animalis”, she reinterprets the cantonal collections of zoology, botany, and geology.
Visitors will also discover Model Citizens, a sharp series by Debi Cornwall, winner of the 2023 Elysée Prize, as well as the work of the eight photographers recently selected for the 2025 edition of this prestigious prize.
Nuit des images Saturday, June 22 from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. Plateforme 10 and Photo Elysée Place de la Gare 17 CH–1003 Lausanne
www.elysee.ch T +41 21 318 44 00
