Arles Swaps a Theme for Three Constellations

The 57th edition of Les Rencontres d'Arles runs more than forty exhibitions, organised not around a single theme but three constellations: Independence, Forms of Life and The Uncertain Archive. Director Christoph Wiesner describes the festival as offering a space for complexity and attentiveness. Among the highlights, Ghana! Dreaming Independence 1957-1976 at the Palais de l'Archeveche, curated by Damarice Amao, runs until 4 October 2026 and examines how a newly independent state built a national image through photography.

At Luma Arles, Stan Douglas's Bodies Never Lie continues until 10 January 2027, centred on his new film Exquisite Corpse, which treats flamenco as a form of resistance under Franco. At the Musee Reattu, guest curator Christian Lacroix assembles Photography Collector, an associative hang mixing historical and contemporary prints, also until 4 October. Splitting the programme in three is partly a curatorial escape and partly an admission: at this scale, no single theme can carry forty shows.