On photography and an iconic photo festival in Provence, France
On photography and an iconic photo festival in Provence, France
Birthday trips, Les Rencontres d'Arles, Van Gogh, Notes and Photos
I am one of the lucky few whose birthday always happens to fall on a holiday. Yes, the 15th of August is un jour ferie or a public holiday in France, and in many countries in Europe. If you read my last letter, you already know a bit about long weekends and the summer rush in France. My birthday also happens to be a big public holiday in India, with the 15th of August being India’s Independence Day from the British Colonial Rule.
Since it is also in the heart of summer, my husband and I now have made a tradition of taking a little trip on my birthday. Last year, it was a day-trip in the picturesque village of Cordes sur Ciel, Occitanie. The year before we did a road trip across the Loire Valley, and so on. However, this summer, I might have found the place I would like to return to spend my birthday year after year!
Last week, for my birthday, we drove up to Arles in order to attend Les Rencontres d'Arles. Every summer, photography lovers from all over the world flock to the small city of Arles, in Provence, France, to participate in, what has become, one of the biggest and undoubtedly, one of the most iconic photography festivals in the world.
With how charming the Provence region in the south of France is, no one needs an excuse to visit it. That much is clear! However, for someone like me, a photography festival was an irresistible cherry atop the architectural and historic pie that is Arles! So, yeah, staying on the food metaphor, my birthday consisted of taking a giant big bite of the photography capital of France. And man, was it delicious!
I will be writing at length about the festival and the city of Arles on my website Détours very soon. In the meantime, here’s a little bit more about what makes Les Rencontres d'Arles so special, some of the highlights from the festival, and Van Gogh’s connection to Arles.
Les Rencontres d'Arles 2024
Every summer, from early July until late September, Arles becomes the focal point for a truly special photography festival. Les Rencontres d'Arles has been held every year in the city since 1970. The French words les rencontres translates to ‘the meetings,’ and the festival has really stood true to its name, becoming a meeting ground for everyone connected to, or everyone interested in, photography.
This year’s edition saw 40 exhibitions from a pool of photographers drawn from France, Japan, Latin America, India and many other parts of the world. The festival is an homage to diverse genres of photography. While it showcases work from the greatest photographers of various times, the festival has also become known for providing a platform for new, upcoming, and in some cases talented but previously virtually unknown, artists.
The settings for Les Rencontres are equally incredible. Arles is a former Roman township, bordering the wetlands of Camargue. The vestiges of the city’s rich history is still evident in its stunning architecture. The photo festival happens in historic sites spread all over the city of Arles. These run the gamut from 12th-century chapels and cloisters to industrial buildings, contemporary galleries and in one case, behind a grocery store!
Les Rencontres d'Arles is truly an exceptional way to interact with the art and science of photography, with the geography of the city being seamlessly weaved within its fibre. Along with exhibitions, the festival also organises panel discussions, photo walks as well as photography workshops throughout the summer.
Highlights from Les Rencontres d'Arles 2024
As someone who picked up photography pretty late in life, in my early 30s, and have been completely self- taught, I have to confess, I often feel at sea when it comes to the technicalities of this art. Its easy to get imposter syndrome often. It’s also easy to cringe internally every time I refer to myself as a photographer. However, this photo pilgrimage to Arles, for someone like me, was healing.
Les Rencontres was eye- opening. An alluring invitation into new ways to look at the world, to discover new limits of what photography can feel, look, and be like. It is sobering to see what people can create, the stories people can tell when they can stand in front of their own fears (of failure, of society, of judgement etc.) and bravely express themselves. All the bells and whistles that sometimes comes with creating photographs were put behind the curtain. And all that remained was the joy of the craft, and the power of story telling through images.
Sorry if I am sounding a little obtuse here and its getting a tad stream-of-consciousness-y. What I mean is, a visit to Les Rencontres was for me a kind of a wake-up-call to not just chase beauty when I photograph. But to try and look for truths too, the ones both with-in and with-out. I’ll write more about this thought in my upcoming letters.
Even though I love conceptual photography, I am a sucker for street photography. Two of my favourite exhibitions were:
Mo Yi: Me in my Landscape: This retrospective on the Chinese photographer was inspiring to say the least. He captured the streets of his city with a ceaseless fervour, while his compositions challenged all ideas of the standard photographer’s recipe when it comes to crafting images. He would shoot with a camera behind his neck, sometimes with the camera on the ground, sometimes even without checking the viewfinder!
All in the name of the name: The sensitive surfaces of graffiti
A riveting look into the art of graffiti through a collection of photographers whose work spans decades. I loved how the curation mixed hard and soft emotions, while presenting photos that not only had oodles of attitude, but also humour.
Some other stand-out exhibitions for me were Christina de Middle: Journey to the Centre, Mary Ellen Mark: Encounters, I am so happy you are here: Japanese women photographers and Everyday Baroque by Rajesh Vohra.
I will be sharing more extensively about the festival and everything you should know about it on my website Détours.
Arles’ Van Gogh connection
Arles also has a very strong link with Van Gogh. It’s not possible to walk two steps in the city without seeing his name peeking from a street sign, or a gift shop. The Dutch painter lived here for 18 months. The city of Arles is credited with inspiring some of Van Gogh’s most famous works. In fact, the kernel for the famous Van Gogh yellow might have been sown right here during his stay in sunny Arles.
Van Gogh has immortalised Arles in paintings such as Le café de nuit (The Night Café) La maison jaune (The Yellow House), and the famous La nuit étoilée (Starry Night Over the Rhône).
I will be definitely writing a longer post on following in the footsteps of Van Gogh in Arles.
Write to me if you know of any other cultural festivals in France that I definitely should not miss.
Also, tell me if you happen to have a birthday tradition that you like to do every year? :)
I hope you enjoyed reading this letter. Have a great week ahead and see you next Wednesday!
Pronoti
What a beautiful trip. My birthday is the 17th and my husband's is the 18th, so we also try to make a trip out of them. Love that yours falls on a national holiday! Happy Birthday!