TLDR: The 56th edition of Les Rencontres d’Arles, running from July 7 to October 5, 2025, under the theme ‘Disobedient Images,’ explores photography as a powerful tool for social transformation and resistance. The festival showcases over 40 exhibitions, featuring 160 artists across 26 venues, and delves into how new technologies, such as advanced digital reconstruction, are shaping the future of photographic art and its ability to address complex human narratives.
The renowned Les Rencontres d’Arles festival is currently underway, marking its 56th edition from July 7 to October 5, 2025. This year, the international photography event is centered around the compelling theme of ‘Disobedient Images,’ inviting attendees to explore the multifaceted role of photography in contemporary society. The festival, under the direction of Christoph Wiesner, draws inspiration from the philosopher Édouard Glissant’s concept of intertwining cultures, presenting photography as a dynamic medium that reflects and shapes our understanding of the world.
Spread across 26 distinct locations, including Romanesque chapels and former factories, the festival boasts an impressive program of 46 exhibitions, showcasing the work of 160 artists across 12,000 square meters of exhibition space. The overarching commitment of this edition is to highlight photography as an instrument of resistance, testimony, and social transformation, particularly in the face of rising nationalism, nihilism, and environmental crises. The diverse perspectives presented offer a crucial counterpoint to prevailing discourses, celebrating the richness of cultures, genders, and origins.
A significant aspect of this year’s festival is its engagement with the evolving nature of the photographic image and new processes and technologies. While the festival broadly aims to stay abreast of these advancements, a notable example is the exhibition ‘Eternal Family’ by South Korean photographer Byun Soon Choel. This poignant series utilizes cutting-edge imaging technology and digital reconstruction to virtually reunite families separated by the Korean War. By blending documentary intent with digital innovation, Choel’s portraits offer a haunting vision of what could have been, demonstrating how memory, absence, and technology can converge to address invisible wounds and explore complex human narratives. This work exemplifies how contemporary photography is pushing boundaries, creating an artistic blur between traditional methods and advanced digital tools to achieve profound emotional and social impact.
Beyond technological exploration, the festival shines a spotlight on various global regions, with Australia and Brazil being prominently featured. Exhibitions like ‘On Country: Photography from Australia’ delve into the deep spiritual relationship Aboriginal people have with their land, while the Brazil-France 2025 Season celebrates the artistic vigor of Latin American photography, including projects like ‘Ancestral Futures’ which reinterprets visual archives to question colonial legacies and highlight the struggles of Afro-Brazilian, indigenous, and LGBTQIA+ communities. The festival also welcomes back major figures such as Nan Goldin, who returns as the winner of the Kering Women in Motion Award for Photography, further enriching the program with her radical legacy of unfiltered autobiography.
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Les Rencontres d’Arles 2025 reaffirms its role as a vital cultural and civic driving force, promoting projects that question inequalities, deconstruct norms, and propose new imaginaries. Through its diverse and committed program, the festival continues to be a pivotal platform for exploring the power of photography to bear witness, resist, and reinvent dominant narratives, fostering a dialogue that embraces both the past and the future of the photographic medium.
