In its search for new forms, the festival blazes a trail. In Heaven and Hell, Vimala Pons and Nhu Xuan Hua take us to the point of encounter between theatre, performance art and photography, between current events, their protagonists and fiction. In a hybrid exhibition, the two artists evidence perpetual movement in a fragile equilibrium. All in the Name of the Name highlights another scene: that of the street, the margins, setting out to meet the sensitive surfaces of graffiti where photography, sometimes the last witness to the oldest manifestation of human creativity, weaves a tale between the appearance and disappearance of transient phenomena. Photographic writing can take numerous forms. The bond with time and narrative has become particularly visible in the serial and conceptual approach of a generation of photographers and artists such as Zoe Leonard, Judith Joy Ross, Hans-Peter Feldmann and Nicholas Nixon. The exhibition dedicated to the Astrid Ullens de Schooten Whettnall collection, curated by Urs Stahel, reveals this richness.

The Rencontres d'Arles supports and accompanies emerging creation ever more actively. The Discovery Award now takes up residence at the Espace Monoprix, and invites curator Audrey Illouz to open new horizons, up to the questions raised by the spread of new technologies such as AI.

Aurélie de Lanlay, the entire festival team and I look forward to welcoming you to Arles on July 1 to discover this program in its entirety.