Each year, Recontres D’Arles is a major moment in the contemporary art calendar. The renowned photography festival has taken place since 1970, spanning more than forty exhibitions across the city of Arles’ exceptional heritage sites. It is an opportunity to bring pioneering lens-based art to venues of historical and architectural significance. The months-long event celebrates established and emerging artists in equal measure, often presenting prestigious figures in a new and distinct light, whilst offering a platform for figures who are driving the medium forward. 2025 is no different, and the programme is packed with remarkable creatives. Exhibitions are dedicated to huge names from throughout the 20^th century, like Claudia Andujar, Louis Stettner and Nan Goldin, whilst others take an expansive look the outstanding cultural output of Brazil and Australia. Here, we highlight five shows that are not to be missed. 

Artistic duo Elsa and Johanna (b. 1990 / 1991) work at the intersection of photography and video. They inhabit their images as fictional characters, blending self-portraiture and performance. Previous series have seen the artists reimagine themselves as teenagers, new mothers, housewives and fathers, spanning locations like a small German town and the city of Calgary, Canada. Their show at Recontres D’Arles is a continuation of the pair’s distinctive style, following thematic threads such as escape, solitude and representations of domestic life. The gallery space is transformed, going beyond a typical retrospective to immersive viewers in something that feels like a time-travel capsule. Their typical mid-to-late century visual language encourages viewers to see history from a new perspective, subtly subverting well-established 1950s and 1960s aesthetics to replace nostalgia with a new vision of the past.

Patrick Wack first visited the Sea of Azov in 2019, where he was struck by the soft light and impressive horizons of the coastline. The body of water is an extension of the Black Sea, bounded by Russia and Ukraine. The region was already a zone of intense international geopolitical tensions by that time, fighting in the Donbass was in its fifth year, the Crimea had been annexed by Russia and the Sea of Azov was de facto occupied by its navy. As the artist described: “the visual softness I found on these peaceful shores contrasted eerily with the rising evil.” The resulting photographs are a chronicle of a moment in world history that was on the brink of disappearing, as less than three years later, Russia invaded Ukraine. Azov Horizons draws attentions to the roots and visible traces of the conflict, whilst also capturing the moments of joy and relaxation that were once common in the area. 

The phrase “Black is beautiful” is a commonly used expression, reflecting the joy and empowerment to be found in Black culture and communities. Many people are familiar with the term, but few know who made it popular. African-American photographer Kwame Brathwaite (1938 – 2003) founded the “Black is Beautiful” movement in the 1960s, with the ambition to portray a culture breaking free from dominant narratives. The artist used his lens to pioneer a freer way of representing the Black body. Hair was no longer straightened and skin colour was celebrated. Brathwaite drew inspiration from jazz, funk and blues, setting up events like fashion shows that asserted the heritage of the African continent while at the same time reflecting the everyday concerns of Black people. This exhibition is the first retrospective of the photographer to be held in Europe, bringing his pioneering work to vast new audiences.

Todd Hido (b. 1968) is best-known for atmospheric images of anonymous houses at night, urban landscapes, neglected interiors and melancholic characters. His series The Light from Within locates and admires moments of quiet beauty in often bleak landscapes. He finds the quiet if unsettling allure of lonely roads and enduring trees. Mountains shimmer and melt in the rain, while forlorn houses stand blank-faced in the snow. The artist explained: “In a time that can seem endlessly disheartening – violent effects of climate change, political instabilities, and technological advances that are eroding the truth and our ability to pay attention to the world around us – it is natural to wonder how to proceed with daily life.” Hido argues that we should redouble our efforts to strengthen the bonds of love with those around us, and to find the potential for solace and tenacity in even the most fragile of situations.

The French Foreign Legion is a unique military corp of the French army, established in 1831. It accepts recruits from all over the world, and the diverse troop of men are one of the world’s most respected military groups. The unit served in the Persian Gulf War of 1990 – 1992, and has since been sent to Africa, Southeast Asia, the Balkans and Afghanistan. Patria Nostra scrutinises the notion of masculinity through a visual record of the Foreign Legion. Joubert focuses on the individuals who make up the corp, having left behind their countries, cultures, languages and loved ones in the hope of a fresh start. The artist uses portraiture to examine the unique identity forged in military settings – those who join the French Foreign Legion are given a new identity upon enlisting. For her, the face becomes a symbol of individuality, a visual resistance to the anonymity that being part of the troop creates. 

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Recontres D’Arles runs from 7 July – 5 October: rencontres-arles.com

Words: Emma Jacob

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Image Credits:

1&4. Kwame Brathwaite. Untitled (Radiah Frye, a model who embraced natural hairstyles during a photo session at the AJASS studios), circa 1970. Courtesy of the Kwame Brathwaite Archive / Philip Martin Gallery.

2. Elsa and Johanna, Intuition 3, Sequences series, 2024. Courtesy of the artists.

3. Patrick Wack, Untitled, one of the heads of the environmental association Clean Taman on the shores of the Kerch Strait, Taman Peninsula, Krasnodar Krai, Russia, Summer 2022. Courtesy of the artist.

5. Todd Hido, #2653, Roaming series, 2000. Courtesy of Galerie Les filles du calvaire.

6. Julie Joubert. Sans titre, 2023. Patria Nostra series, 2023-2024. Courtesy of the artist.