Closing press release THE 46TH RENCONTRES D’ARLES 6 July-20 September 2015 EXCELLENT ATTENDANCE IN 2015: 10,000 MORE VISITORS THAN IN 2014 This year, 93,000 people came to Arles for the 46
th
Rencontres, a 12% rise compared to 2014
(83,000). Over 900,000 admissions to exhibitions were tallied. The Rencontres also drew the local public. Over 7,400 Arles residents visited the festival, a 16% increase compared to 2014. Attendance was steady during opening week, 6 to 12 July, attracting 13,500 image professionals and festival-goers (more than in 2014): 40% of visitors were not only international but highly diversified as well, hailing from 40 different countries. SAM STOURDZÉ’S FIRST RENCONTRES D’ARLES WAS A SUCCESS th
Fleur Pellerin, France’s Minister of Culture and Communication, opened the 46 Rencontres d’Arles, whose new director, Sam Stourdzé, brought a fresh, unique vision to the festival: he brought photography into dialogue with music, cinema and architecture, offering the 250 artists and 39 guest curators fertile ground for experimentation. Mr. Stourdzé’s first festival met with critical acclaim in the regional, national and international press, which devoted many articles to him during opening week and throughout the summer. Popular shows receiving in-depth media coverage included the Stephen Shore retrospective; Total Records, The Great Adventure of Album Cover Photography; I Was Here, Dark Tourism by Ambroise Tézenas; The Heavens, Annual Report by Paolo Woods and Gabriele Galimberti; and Personal Affairs by Thierry Bouët. BACK TO SCHOOL IN IMAGES From 7 to 19 September, the festival hosted 10,000 students accompanied by 700 teachers from throughout France. The Rencontres d’Arles education department offered over 900 workshops training participants in how to read images. Since the spring, our workshops have been available free of charge for all on our digital platform: www.latelierdesphotographes.com. THE RENCONTRES D’ARLES 2015 BUDGET €6.3 million, not including taxes: 40% from public funding
40% from self-generating revenue (mainly ticket sales, training courses and derived products) 20% from sponsors and private partnerships. THE RENCONTRES D’ARLES: AN ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND TOURISM PLAYER Not including service providers, 365 people worked on making this year’s festival a success. Among them, 200 were hired on government-subsidised six-month contracts. The festival develops a support approach in the framework of these subsidised jobs by offering long-term training with assistance from the government and Agefos. Hervé Schiavetti, the Mayor of Arles, says the direct jobs alone help to temporarily shrink unemployment in the town (4,000 people) by 5%. A knock-on effect creates additional indirect jobs, mainly in hotels and restaurants. From start to finish, the festival directly spurs the local economy by working with hotels, restaurants and various area-based service providers.
THE RENCONTRES D’ARLES OUTSIDE THE WALLS th
From 15 November to 16 December, five major shows from the 46 Rencontres d’Arles will travel to China for the Jimei X Arles East West Encounters International Photo Festival launched by the Rencontres d’Arles in partnership with the Three Shadows Photography Art Center. You can find more information at http://jimeiarles.org THE RENCONTRES D’ARLES 2016 The Rencontres d’Arles 2016 will take place from 4 July to 25 September 2016.
Press contact / Claudine Colin Communication Marika Bekier / marika@claudinecolin.com / Phone: +33 (0)1 42 72 60 01
APPENDIX 1 - NEW FEATURES IN 2015 •
Cosmos-Arles Books, an exchange platform bringing together over 80 publishers and 15 exhibitions;
•
The Luma Rencontres Dummy Book Award, a new prize aiming to help publish a dummy book;
•
A new format for the Night of the Year at the Étienne paper mill in the Trinquetaille quarter, which took place in connection with the Night of La Roquette;
•
The nonante-neuf, a friendly new venue, a living library of photography and an area where people can relax, chat and enjoy a bite to eat;
•
Two big parties open to all for the opening and closing of the inaugural week.
APPENDIX 2 - THE RENCONTRES D’ARLES 2015 AWARDS The Discovery Award 2015 Pauline Fargue €25,000 The Dummy Book Award The Jungle Book Author: Yann Gross €25,000 Special mentions: John Mac Lean, Hometowns Yoshinori Masuda, Tiger 2 The Historical Book Award 2015 Monograph Vitas Luckus. Works. Biography Author: Margarita Matulytė and Tatjana Luckiene-Aldag Publisher: Kaunas Photography Gallery & Lithuanian Art Museum, December 2014 €8,000 shared between the author and publisher The Author Book Award 2015 H. said he loved us Author: Tommaso Tanini/Discipula Publisher: Disculpa Editions, November 2014 €8,000 shared between the author and publisher Special mentions: Dima Gavrysh, Douglas NIckel, Inshallah, Kehrer Verlag, 2015 Miguel Angel Toneron, The Random Series, Editorial RM, 2014 Photo Folio Review In 2016, the work of the five finalists — Charlotte Abramow (Belgium), Piero Martinelo (Italy),
Martin Essl (Austria), Elin Høyland (Norway) and Laurent Kronental (France) — and of the winner will be published in a collective book coproduced by the Rencontres d’Arles and Yellow Korner. The official selection of the Rencontres d’Arles 2016 will feature the work of the 2015 winner, Mr. Martinelo. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Rencontres d’Arles is deeply grateful for the active support, enthusiasm, trust, involvement and loyalty of all the public and private partners, who share the credit for the festival’s success: