July Festivals Guide

July is one of the most exciting months for photography festivals. Cortona On The Move, Les Rencontres d’Arles, and PhotoIreland are among them. Read our monthly festivals round-up to learn more about their programs and international guests

Cortona On The Move (Cortona, Italy) July 14 - October 2

© Anna Filipova, from the series Research at the End of the World

Founded back in 2011, Cortona On The Moveinternational photography festival has developed into one of the leading eventsof its kind, annually attracting prominent photographers, journalists,amateurs, and enthusiasts from around the world. “The object of the festival isto celebrate a Journey: be it real or imaginary, shocking or revolutionary, avoyage of self-discovery or an exposé of the human condition” say theorganizers. The main exhibition highlights this year include It’s What I Do, LynseyAddario; Frontcountry, Lucas Foglia; FuturisticArchaeology, Daesung Lee; Research at the End of the World, Anna Filipova;Working Holiday Visa: Australia, Gabriele Duchi; and The Longings of theOthers, Sandra Hoyn. A series of portfolio reviews and workshops – hosted bysuch renowned photographers as Larry Towell, Darcy Padilla, and Simona Ghizzoni– complete the program of events.

Les Rencontres d’Arles (Arles, France) July 4 - September 25

© Dominic Nahr, from the series Fractured State, South and North Sudan

Les Rencontres d’Arles is one of the mostimportant festivals on the photography calendar. Its policy of programmingexhibitions that display almost exclusively new work, often co-produced by bothFrench and international museums and institutions, has earned the festival a reputationfor being at the forefront of cutting edge developments in the field of thephotographic image. The primary exhibitions in 2016 feature the work of suchartists as Laia Abril, Piero Martinello, João Pina, Garry Winogrand, DonMcCullin, Yann Gross, Alinka Echeverría, Michael Ackerman, and Dominic Nahr. Anextensive supporting program of events includes Arles Books, a 1,000m² spacededicated to the photobook in all its various forms; portfolio reviewsconducted by prominent names in the industry; and a whole series of educationalworkshops designed to encourage the exchange of ideas.

PhotoIreland Festival (Dublin, Ireland) July 1 -31

© Natalie Bryne, from the exhibition Perspectives at PhotoIreland 2016

PhotoIreland is dedicated to the promotionand dissemination of artists from, and working in, Ireland. The main exhibitionthis year, entitled IDEALS, brings together 15 visual stories by both local andinternational photographers that “explore the world and seek to improve it byhighlighting socio-political issues we tend to ignore in our everyday lives.”The show’s curator, Ángel Luis González further says that “the installationunderlines the inseparable relation between artists and society, and presentsit as an extension of their everyday concerns and investigations.” AntónioCastilho, Elisa Gonzalez Miralles, Emer Gillespie, Florian van Roekel, JörgBrüggemann, Marie-Pierre Cravedi, Robert McCormack, Wawrzyniec Kolbusz, andYaakov Israel are among the exhibitors. Other featured shows include The FotobookKassel Dummy Awards 2016, The Asia-Pacific Photobook Archive, and How toFlatten a Mountain – a group investigation into the traces of mankind on theenvironment and the remnants of life which describe social interactions.