In 2025, Le Guilvinec, Finistère’s iconic fishing port, will be hosting the 15th edition of the Festival L’Homme et la Mer, which this year will focus on the theme of ‘Women and the Sea’. This flagship event for maritime photography will offer a unique space to explore the place of women in the maritime world, through the lens of 15 artists. The majority of these photographers are women, and they capture the sea in all its many facets, as an ecological, cultural and social issue.
An artistic and committed journey
This year’s festival features a five-kilometre-long open-air photographic trail through the streets of Le Guilvinec and Treffiagat. Visitors will be able to discover more than 300 photographs exhibited on the walls, public squares and other emblematic sites of the two towns. To complement this visual immersion, film screenings, lectures and photo marathons will be organised throughout the festival. These events will allow visitors to delve into the contemporary issues affecting our oceans: global warming, plastic pollution and overfishing. The festival is distinguished by its desire to raise public awareness while celebrating maritime cultures and traditions, with a particular focus on women who have contributed to maritime life throughout history, whether as workers, artists or environmental activists.
The spirit of the sea through the eyes of women
This year’s festival aims to highlight the many ways in which women relate to the sea, whether in their daily lives, at work or through photography. Delphine Alexandre’s Petite côte series, for example, bears witness to the difficulties encountered by small-scale Senegalese fishermen in the face of industrial overfishing. Fab Rideti, for her part, invites us to reflect on the plastic pollution threatening our oceans through her series Naphta Tribes, in which plastic figures take on the air of warriors, denouncing consumerism and the destruction of the planet. Older photographic series, such as Côté mer, les femmes sont à terre, bring back to life portraits of Breton women working in the ports at the beginning of the 20th century, a time when their role in fishing was still largely invisible. These images pay tribute to a heritage that is all too often ignored, and highlight the evolution of seafaring occupations.
A festival for everyone
The L’Homme et la Mer Festival is a free event, accessible to all and designed to be shared by a wide audience. The open-air exhibitions are open to the public with no programme restrictions, allowing everyone to discover the works at their own pace. In addition to the exhibitions, the festival offers a number of interactive events, such as meet-the-photographer days, photo marathons open to amateurs and lectures on maritime photography. The festival also has a strong focus on the younger generation, with educational projects supported by local schools. These initiatives, based on workshops and collective reflection, offer pupils the opportunity to express themselves through photography and to play an active part in creating a living maritime culture.
