Three Shadows Photography Art Centre has been working closely with Les Rencontres d’Arles since 2015 to found the International Photo Festival in Xiamen’s Jimei District. Jointly organised by Three Shadows Photography Art Centre and Xiamen Tianxia Jimei Media Co. Ltd., Jimei x Arles introduces excellent overseas photography works with an open and inclusive attitude, synchronising with the freshest international vision. Jimei x Arles works with various experts and institutions to explore the creative power of Chinese photography, facilitates the dissemination of excellent contemporary photography works and continues to promote them on the international stage. Since its founding, Jimei x Arles has presented more than 200 exhibitions from China and the rest of Asia, as well as a selection of excellent shows from Les Rencontres d’Arles. To date, the festival has attracted 400,000 visitors.
Since 2020, RongRong, Chinese contemporary photographer and co-founder of Three Shadows Photography Art Centre, have been serving as Co-Directors, with noted photography critic Gu Zheng serving as Art Director. The 8th Jimei x Arles will present 30 exhibitions, featuring works by more than one hundred artists from France, Thailand, Brazil, the United States and mainland China: Six “Exhibitions from Arles” Ten “Discovery Awards” exhibitions focusing on outstanding young Chinese artist photographers, three “Greetings from Thailand” exhibitions, one “China Pulse” exhibition showing the exploration and development of Chinese higher art colleges in photography, three “Crossover Photography” exhibitions, one “Tribute” exhibition, one “Collector’s Tale” exhibition, two “Local Action” exhibitions, one Jimei x Arles Group Exhibition of the Finalists’ Proposals for “Curatorial Award for Photography and Moving Image”, one photography exhibition “THE HORIZON”, and one “Jimei x Arles Photobook Exhibition”.
Jimei x Arles International Photo Festival’s two major awards, “Jimei x Arles Discovery Award” and “Curatorial Award for Photography and Moving Image” will announce new winners during the opening week from November 25 to November 27. At the same time, a series of activities such as portfolio reviews, panel talks, guided tours, art fairs, performances, screenings, workshops, and study tours will welcome art lovers in Xiamen to join us for this year’s grand gathering!
Exhibitions from Arles
In July, Les Rencontres d’Arles opened with the theme of “Visible or Invisible, A Summer Revealed”, among which 6 selected exhibitions will be toured in China: from the “Exploring and Testifying” unit, “The Land Where the Sun Was Born” by the artist Julien Lombardi and “Geometric Forests: Struggles on Mapuche Land” by Ritual Inhabitual, curated by Sergio Valenzuela Escobedo. The Louis Roederer Discovery Award 2022, curated by Taous Dahmani, brings “GH. Gal and Hiroshima” by artists Gal Cipreste Marinelli and Rodrigo Masina Pinheiro, presented by Ateliê Oriente; “From what she told me, and how I feel” by artist Celeste Leeuwenburg, presented by Julio; and “Like a River” by artist Daniel Jack Lyons, presented by Ensemble. In addition, the “2022 Rencontres d’Arles Book Awards” will also be exhibited as scheduled.
Jimei x Arles Discovery Award
Every year, Jimei x Arles invites 5 curators to nominate 10 talented Chinese photographers as finalists to hold solo exhibitions, and select the winner during the opening week. The winner of the Jimei x Arles Discovery Award will receive ¥100,000. As a new force in the Chinese photography circle, the winner will be invited to exhibit their works on the international stage of Les Rencontres d’Arles in France the following year.
The participating artists of this year’s “Jimei x Arles Discovery Award” include Zhang Xiao (Exhibition “Guai Li Luan Xin” ) and Li Weiyi (Exhibition “Associated Image”), nominated by curator Liu Gang; Chen Xiaoyi (Exhibition “The Epoch of Rippling Hengduan Mountains: I am supposed to tell you some of the words I heard deep down in the sea” ) and Zhao Qian (Exhibition “Paper, Light Dot and Conch”), nominated by curator Shen Chen; Luka Yuanyuan Yang (Exhibition “Make it Home”) and Yuan Keru (Exhibition “Realms of Memory”), nominated by curator Tutu Zhu; Peng Zuqiang (Exhibition “Cold Compress”) and Doreen Chan (Exhibition “Half Dream”), nominated by curator Sun Wenjie; Tan Chui Mui (Exhibition “Just Because You Pressed the Shutter?”) and Xia Chengan (Exhibition “Xia Chengan: Artificial Charisma”), nominated by curator Wang Yiquan.