Things To Do At Les Rencontres d'Arles 2026 And Beyond

Discover the Rencontres d'Arles opening week through our comprehensive agenda, featuring a curated selection of the official program and our favorite independent events.

The 57th edition of Les Rencontres d'Arles runs from 6 July to 4 October 2026, in Arles, France, with a vast program of events activating the historic city during its opening week from 6 to 12 July.

Over the past 56 years, the festival has firmly established itself as a meeting point and an observatory of our changing world. Throughout the city, day and night, photographers and curators meet the public at exhibition tours, round tables, book fairs, portfolio reviews, evening screenings, workshops, and lectures. Here is our curated guide to navigate the opening week.

1. Explore The Exhibitions

This year, Les Rencontres d’Arles anchors its narratives deeply within the complex, interconnected histories of the African continent and the Mediterranean. The image operates as an active site of interrogation, examining how identities are constructed, how histories are rewritten, and how representations can redefine our understanding of the world.

In GHANA! Dreaming Independence, the book and print culture of a nascent nation enters into dialogue with contemporary reflections on post-colonial identity, capturing the collective hope and doubt following political emancipation. This conceptual dismantling of imperial history is mirrored in Thato Toeba’s Anyone Can Be Lucifer, which utilizes fragmented, Dadaist-inspired three-dimensional collages to expose the scars of Eurocentric archive scarcity.

Curated by Nadine Hounkpatin, the 2026 Louis Roederer Foundation Discovery Award exhibition, The Best Possible Way To Tell The Truth..., brings together seven emerging international artists whose poetic, situated narratives use photography as a vital space of resistance to challenge systemic image censorship and reshape our understanding of historical truth. On the other hand, the ENSP Generation exhibition, curated by Aurélia Marcadier, showcases the graduate projects of Susanna De Vido, Denis Valery Ndayishimiye, and Guillaume Chevalier Fustec, who explore human-animal relationships, diasporic Black masculinity, and the altered perceptions of mourning.

Geopolitical and ecological frictions ripple through the remaining showcases. In Orianne Ciantar Olive’s Circular Ruins, the artist reverses film within her camera to chemically navigate the catastrophic, impassable borders of the Levant, creating a poetic, structural essay on the repetition of conflict. Rebekka Deubner’s La terre amoureuse offers an intimate, slow-tempo study of land activism in Sainte-Soline, mapping a geography of water, repetition, and shared rural experiences that resist spectacular media clichés.

To mark the centenary of his birth, the exhibition This Way To Heaven showcases William Klein's lesser-known, politically critical body of work through a diverse multimedia collection that methodically dismantles and subverts the mass media's "society of the spectacle" in both the United States and France.

Finally, featuring nearly a hundred international works and interactive displays, L is for Look explores the century-long history of the children’s photobook from the 1930s to the present, tracing how collaborative design, pedagogical shifts, and pioneering women photographers have shaped the visual literacy of young readers. Explore the wide program of exhibitions here.

2. Enjoy Photobooks & Workshops

France PhotoBook is organizing the fifth edition of the Arles Books Fair, taking place at the École nationale supérieure de la photographie and the Collège Saint-Charles. Dedicated to the richness and variety of independent publishing practices, this central hub brings together over eighty international publishing houses from Tuesday 7 July to Saturday 11 July, 1 pm to 7:30 pm, with authors and photographers hosting book-signing sessions daily starting at 5:30 pm. Among the participating publishers are Building Books, Ediciones Anómalas, Ciao Press, FotoEvidence, dienacht Publishing, Dunes, Fraglich Publishing / Myanmar Photo Archive, Grani Edizioni, Lithuanian Photobooks, Origini, RVM Hub, Saetta Books, TAMAKA Publishing, Zoopark Publishing Collective, Ediciones Posibles, and more.

Book signings and launches are a special opportunity to meet photographers, artists, and authors in person, and discover the latest titles. Among this year's highlights, Dunes Editions will present El Rey Blanco by Maximiliano Tineo, with the book launch taking place at the Fondation Manuel Rivera-Ortiz on Thursday 9 July, 10 am, and featuring a conversation alongside Alejandro León Cannock. Additionally, on 8 July, Setanta Books, Edition Taube, and Pupupublishing invite you for an evening by the Rhône from 7 pm till dark. It promises to be a perfect sunset gathering filled with drinks, great company, and new book launches, featuring Stray Sod by Maria Lax, This Feels Safe by Werner Amann, and Game Of Chairs by Nikita Teryoshin. Plus, located right in the heart of town, Librairie du Palais runs their dedicated Photobookfair, transforming their space into a multi-day hub of continuous indie book launches, international author signings, and surprise events.

If you would like to experiment, make, and print, Offprint Arles 2026 welcomes Atelier Quintal, a Paris-based printing and publishing workshop dedicated to risograph printing. Through selected publications, presentations, and workshops, they create a meeting point for those who produce, question, and disseminate visual culture.

The LUMA Rencontres Dummy Book Award will announce its 2026 prize recipient on Friday 10 at the Théâtre Antique. All the shortlisted dummies will be displayed in a dedicated space within the official festival program.

3. Attend Performances & Talks

Featuring vital voices like Kegham Djeghalian Junior, Katia Kameli, and Ananias Leki Dago, The Eyes Talks on Decolonizing Images: Independences, Narratives, and Counter-Stories explores how artists can unearth and rewrite suppressed or colonial narratives, reclaiming authorship over their own histories. This critical investigation into the nature of the medium is deeply expanded by the ENSP’s international conference, asking whether photography still needs artists.

The SAIF roundtable on Compensation and Equity brings together legal experts and artist collectives to discuss how creators can economically survive today. Concurrently, discussions hosted by Gaze Magazine and Le Point analyze how gendered perspectives manipulate our perceptions of reality, and how photography functions in moments of post-colonial crisis.

Accordionist and composer Tuur Florizoone provides a live performance that translates the intense, cinematic color palettes of photographer Harry Gruyaert into an immersive acoustic landscape, demonstrating how sound can ultimately shape, expand, and breathe new life into the visual frame. Check the full festival's agenda at this link.

4. Join The Portfolio Reviews

For over 15 years, the Photo Folio Review has anchored the festival's opening week with meetings designed for professional photographers, students, and practitioners willing to gather feedback from experts such as editors, museum curators, and artistic directors.

The OFF Festival offers parallel, fluid avenues for dialogue and visibility. Among these, the Inland initiative provides an open, accessible format: a series of portfolio reviews pairing emerging photographers with image professionals with no appointment necessary, culminating in a collective portfolio screening and an informal drinks reception.

Similarly, Fisheye bridges the gap between learning and community at the courtyard of the Archevêché, hosting daily networking opportunities open to all, alongside dedicated portfolio reviews twice a day by appointment – from 9:30 am to 10:30 am and 5 pm to 6 pm. Together, these platforms transform the city into a decentralized laboratory of visual exchange, catering to both rigorous academic critique and independent networking.

5. Experience The Festival After Dark

On the evenings of 7-9-10 July, the Théâtre Antique converts into a monumental open-air cinema featuring live-music-scored photographic projections, and live award announcements.

Saturday 11 July is La Nuit de l’Année, held at the former Papeteries Étienne. Across five massive screens, around forty photographic works unfold in a continuous loop from 9:45 pm to 2:45 am. In addition, the industrial site comes alive with live music, DJ sets, and multidisciplinary performances. Anna Idatte welcomes visitors with an ethereal concert blending classical instrumentation with layered electronic sounds, transitioning into the ritualistic, original performance piece Operation Epic Fury, where the moving body of dancer Rana Gorgani responds live to the political wounds of Maryam Saeedpoor's war photography.

Franco-Egyptian DJ Nadia El Hakim, Berlin-based label Habibi Funk, and Radio Flouka will play till the end of the night surrounded by the luminous, floating structures of the Le Peuple de Cristal art installation.

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La Embajada, 74 Rue Portagnel /

An independent, artist-run platform led by Ignacio Navas, Emma A. Marty, and Jonàs Forchini, La Embajada returns to Arles with the support and funding of Plataforma Fotografía e Imagen and the Spanish Ministry of Culture. This backing enabled an open call, with an international jury selecting the featured artists. Aimed at showcasing contemporary photography created within the Spanish context, the exhibition will be open from 6 to 13 July, with a special event on 9 July at 12 pm.

Visitors will have the opportunity to engage with intersecting bodies of work, including Paula Artés’s exploration of bureaucratic power structures, Antonio Guerra’s research into territorial transformations caused by mining, and Jorge G. Higuera’s intimate look at inherited family responsibilities following the death of his father. The exhibition also features Joel Jiménez’s project bridging science and myth, Aida Lechugo’s blend of photography and textile weaving that explores collective memory and disappearing historical sites, and Alba Ruiz’s use of humor to highlight capitalist contradictions between work and leisure through the metaphor of insects.

Archevêché by Fisheye / Place de la République

From 6 to 12 July, Fisheye will transform the courtyard of the Archevêché into a cultural hub, offering a rich program of exhibitions, educational discussions, and daily festive events. This year's flagship exhibition focuses on craftsmanship, showcasing never-before-seen images of Baccarat crystal manufacturing by avant-garde photographers Aliocha Boi and Daphné Lejeune from the book Résonances, complemented by a dedicated panel talk on 7 July. Running parallel to the exhibition, the venue will host daily industry networking opportunities and critical debates addressing pressing contemporary themes such as AI in photography, female representation, and identity.

Open daily from 9 am to 2 am, the space seamlessly pairs professional and educational insights with a lively social atmosphere featuring a courtyard bar, DJ sets, parties, and a photography raffle.

Der Greif's Screening: Read Against The Machine / Foundation Manuel Rivera-Ortiz

On Friday 10 July, from 7pm to 10pm, Der Greif and the Foundation Manuel Rivera-Ortiz present an evening of collective looking and conversation. This special screening presents works by artists selected through their open call, alongside the outcomes of the Read Against The Machine workshop developed during Les Rencontres d’Arles.

Bringing together diverse photographic practices from around the world, the program explores images that invite interpretation rather than certainty, embracing ambiguity, dialogue, and multiple ways of seeing. The screening reflects a collaborative editing process in which artists and participants collectively examined, sequenced, and recontextualized photographs through discussion and exchange.

OFF Festival Arles / Various locations

Orchestrated by the independent association La Kabine, the OFF Festival Arles has established itself as an essential fixture on the cultural calendar, this year including over 150 venues and 200 exhibitions. Running parallel to the city's major photography institutions, it animates Arles with a rich, eclectic, and entirely free program. During the opening week especially, local storefronts, private townhouses, and hidden garages play host to raw, self-funded contemporary visual artists.

Among them, SAAH by Ratika Singh at Galerie du Rhône, curated by Sofía Krysiak, explores the extraordinary healing effects of the natural world on our emotional and physical health. The vernissage will take place on Monday, 6 July at 6 pm, featuring a musical layer curated by Romi (Numen Yoga). Attendees are also invited back on Wednesday, 8 July at 11:30 am for a special 15-minute guided meditation led by artist and practitioner Nadine Brettar. Other venues include the brand-new Galerie Triptyque, which will host The Language Of Images, organized by Rencontres de la Photographie Marrakech and celebrating the bicentennial of photography and highlighting Moroccan and diaspora voices. Featuring 20 artists – including Kristoffer Axén, Gloria Oyarzabal, Hiba Baddou, Lola Akinmade Åkerström, Ana Palacios, Sarah Mei Herman, Jean-Marc Caimi and Valentina Piccinni – the vernissage is scheduled for Friday 3 July at 7 pm.

Additionally, for the first time, the association Les Filles de la Photo has partnered with the festival to introduce a curated trail dedicated to women photographers, showcasing 10 female artists with distinct visual practices.

CONTRA MAPA / La Verrerie de Trinquetaille

CONTRA MAPA is an international, self-organized collective project mapping contemporary South America through the lens of thirteen emerging artists from Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Venezuela, Mexico, and Peru. Initiated by Madrid-based non-profit Espacio Seara and collectively curated by the participating artists, this second edition fosters critical dialogue around independent practices, activism, and the social realities transforming the continent.

The project culminates on Thursday 9 July from 9:30 pm to midnight at La Verrerie de Trinquetaille – a former glass factory turned community arts space – with an evening of immersive outdoor projections that weave together images, territories, and shared imaginaries, allowing the historic site itself to become part of the narrative.

CORRESPONDENCES at LUMA Arles / Parc des Ateliers

An immersive, evolving audiovisual installation at LUMA Arles, CORRESPONDENCES brings together over a decade of collaboration between Soundwalk Collective – led by Stephan Crasneanscki and Simone Merli – and artist Patti Smith, marking its first major European presentation. The project juxtaposes poetry, cinema, and complex soundscapes to explore the precarity of the natural world, political struggle, and human memory, utilizing fragmentation and recombination to invite visitors to forge their own paths through the exhibition.

At its core, the installation blends Crasneanscki’s remote, vulnerable field recordings with Smith’s evocative vocal channelings of historical, mythological, and more-than-human presences, invoking visionary figures like Andrei Rublev, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Alfred Wegener, and Peter Kropotkin. Functioning as a mental archive of a disappearing world haunted by extinction and historical wounds, Correspondences serves as a poetic homage to resilience and creativity that is further commemorated by a special book signing event with Patti Smith for her new release, Bread of Angels, at LUMA Arles on 5 July from 11am to 12pm.

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The 57th edition of Les Rencontres d'Arles runs from 6 July to 4 October 2026, in Arles, France, with a wide program of events taking place during the opening week, 6-12 July. For more information visit their website.