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This July in Arles, Fujifilm will gather the greatest photographers, including Magnum photographers, in an emblematic venue now open to the public.
After Tokyo, New York, Stockholm and, more recently, Berlin, Fujifilm’s FUJIKINA will settle in Arles from July 1 to 6 to join the celebrations of the opening week of the internationally renowned photo festival Les Rencontres d’Arles. FUJIKINA, a worldwide event for photographic culture initiated by Fujifilm, will be open to the public in the former ENSP (Ecole Nationale Supérieure de la Photographie) building in the historical center of the city, promising to combine knowledge and practice of the art of photography in an historic and unique location.
FUJIKINA in Arles, a Unique Event
FUJIKINA is a must-attend event for anyone interested in photography, the arts, and photographic techniques. Presented by Fujifilm, this unique event celebrates the power of images and their
creators, and in Arles, the event ventures into the world of contemporary art with a groundbreaking exhibition featuring four Magnum photographers: Peter van Agtmael, Carolyn Drake, Lorenzo Meloni, and Lua Ribeira. (see more in “An original partnership with Magnum”).
This week-long event will include talks and workshops with internationally renowned photographers who will share their experiences, techniques and views on different styles of imagemaking, such as portraiture, photojournalism, street photography and much more. In addition, there will be plenty of opportunities to discover, test and borrow various digital cameras and lenses, as well as have your sensors cleaned by the brand’s experts.
‘FUJIKINA is not just an event for Fujifilm fans, but for anyone who wants to discover or deepen their passion for photography. It’s about inspiring people and giving them the opportunity to discover the world of digital photography in its incredible diversity,’
says Franck Bernard, Director of the Imaging Division – Fujifilm France
A Longstanding Relationship with the Festival
For over 50 years, Arles has welcomed thousands of photographers, both professionals and amateurs, to Rencontres d’Arles, the first international festival of photography; a perfect opportunity for Fujifilm to meet its photographic community in person! After several years of collaboration loaning equipment, in 2024 Fujifilm wished to extend this partnership and became a Major Partner of the Rencontres d’Arles’ workshops. To celebrate this new partnership with the festival, Fujifilm offered a series of free 1.5-hour workshops with the brand’s most talented ambassadors throughout the week.
An Historic Venue in Arles for Photography
FUJIKINA Arles takes place in the former site of The French National School of Photography, on the rue des Arènes, in the historic Hôtel Quiqueran de Beaujeu. Thanks to Fujifim’s contribution to
the renovation of the buildings, this 17th-century edifice will welcome renowned photographers, festival visitors and Arles residents curious to see its doors open to the public for the first time on
July 1st. Thus, Fujifilm is proud to become a privileged partner of the city of Arles and to further announce the arrival of Arles créative, a space dedicated to new images at the start of the 2024
autumn season. This link between photographic heritage and new writing is also reflected in the partnership with the current ENSP, which Fujifilm has been supporting since 2020.
A Original Partnership with Magnum
This year, Fujikina also spotlights its long-standing partnership with the famous Magnum agency and its close ties with some of its photographers that began in 2018 with the «HOME» project. Since then, their collaboration has flourished across various regions of the world, spanning from exclusive commissions to enriching educational workshops. This year marks another milestone in their partnership: as a partner of the Magnum Annual General Meeting to be held in the historic city of Arles just before the opening week of the Rencontres de la Photographie, Fujifilm is inviting Magnum to present new series by four renowned photographers: Peter van Agtmael, Carolyn Drake, Lorenzo Meloni and Lua Ribeira. The loose chosen theme, ‘Connection’, allows for the four photographers to respond in a personal manner with works that are contingent with their practice as artists while at the same time rooted in the world of documentary photography. An exhibition will be held through the end of summer (from July 1st to August 25th, 2024) as well as talks, signings and an unprecedented experience with a ‘Live Commission’, inviting photographers to continue their series and offering the public the opportunity to discuss their work in progress during editing sessions, or, for Carolyn Drake, in her reconstructed studio at the heart of the Magnum Live space. All in all, a whole series of events celebrating this long-lasting relationship.
A Rich Programme
A rich and diverse programme awaits photography fans in different locations in the former photography school. FUJIKINA features over 60 activities during the week, including inspiring talks and portfolio reviews by renowned photographers and industry professionals, live shooting with lighting support from Profoto, exclusive workshops and inspiring photo walks.
Among the photographers present during the week are Cristina de Middel, Eric Bouvet, Lorenzo Meloni, Laura Bonnefous, Mathias Benguigui, Magali Delporte, Ljubisa Danilovic, Lua Ribeira, Julien Apruzzese, Peter van Agtmael, Carolyn Drake and many others.
Spotlight on Japan
As with the Rencontres programme, which gives a special recognition to Japanese artists, Fujifilm is delighted to announce a series of original talks with Masazumi Imai, the esteemed designer of the iconic Fujifilm X100 series, and Obara Kazuma, Ono Tadashi and Kanno Jun, three Japanese photographers featured in the festival programme with the “Reflection” exhibition. Fujifilm looks forward to hosting its colleagues and peers from its homeland.
A free «Check & Clean» service will be offered to visitors wishing to have their Fujifilm equipment maintained. Fujifilm cameras and lenses can also be hired and borrowed on site. Whatsmore, the Fujifilm team is on hand to answer any questions visitors may have and to support them in their relationship with the brand.
The full range of Fujifilm equipment will be available for testing, from the premium compact X100VI through to the top-of-the-range APS-C X Series, to the large format excellence embodied by the GFX range. The four new products announced in May will also be available for preview testing, along with the full range of high-quality GF and XF lenses – over 50 pieces! A partner retailer, Images Montpellier, will be on site with allowing for direct sales during the week.
In addition, Profoto is partnering with FUJIKINA Arles for all the lighting equipment, including Live Photoshoots led by brand ambassador Julien Apruzzese and Carolyn Drake’s photo studio reproduce in Arles for the Live Commission.
Other brands’ activities represented in this dedicated photography showcase
The INSTAX
In March 2024, Fujifilm gave two new INSTAX mini 99s to two photographers, each with a singular vision, Aliocha Boi and Christopher Barraja. In a collaboration with Fisheye, the photographers’ worlds come together to offer a striking contemporary creation in the library of the former photography school.
Print solution
The new APEOS printing system will be available during opening week to produce professional quality photographic prints on demand; it will also be showcased and demonstrated during the Live Comissions with the photographers from Magnum.
The full programme can be found on the Fujifilm website Registration for the event is mandatory via this link: https://www.fujifilm-x.com/fr-fr/special/fujikina-arles/
Information
FUJIKINA Arles
Hôtel Quiqueran de Beaujeu
16 rue des Arènes, Arles
From july 1st to 6th
Open from 10am to 7pm
Magnum’s exhibition
Galerie Arena
16 rue des Arènes, Arles
From July 1st to August 25th
Open from 10am to 7pm
Contact
For further information, please contact Maud Prangey
Press and Public Relations FUJIKINA Arles
[email protected] / 06 63 40 54 62
FUJIFILM × MAGNUM
Fujifilm France and Magnum have partnered to present a group exhibition featuring new series by four renowned photographers on the theme of ‘Connection’. Each one of them will continue to work
on his or her project during the opening week of Arles as part of a Live Commission initiated by Fujifilm. The public will have the opportunity to see them edit and providing them with an insight
into their creative process. Photographs taken in Arles will complement the group exhibition.
Peter van Agtmael
Peter van Agtmael is embarking on a new body of work in France. Having followed his wife back to her homeland, he is acutely feeling a sense of alienation and displacement. For the first time in two decades working as a photojournalist he is forging new connections away from conflict and his country in an effort to create a new home.
Peter van Agtmael is known for his deeply affecting, sometimes surreal images,
which explore themes of conflict, history, memory, nationalism, militarism, race and
class. He has covered America’s wars from both sides and countless angles, from
embedding with military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan to covering the civilian cost
of the wars. In his latest book “Look at the U.S.A.”, Peter van Agtmael, focused on
the fault lines of the post-9/11 United States, at home and abroad. The photographs
span the period 2006-2021; they examine the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and
their domestic consequences–wounded soldiers and the families of the fallen. He has
received several awards including a Guggenheim Fellowship, the W. Eugene Smith
Grant, a Pulitzer Center Grant, as well as multiple awards from World Press Photo.
Peter has recently relocated to France, embarking on a new photographic chapter.
© PETER VAN AGTMAEL /
MAGNUM PHOTOS
Carolyn Drake
Carolyn Drake continues her project «Glorify Yourself,» in which she interacts with the pages of a best-selling American self-help guide for women from the 1950s. Her playful yet disturbing images draw attention to the system of desires and delusions that still hold a grip on socio-political structures in her country.
Carolyn Drake works on long term photo-based projects seeking to interrogate
dominant historical narratives and creatively reimagine them. Her practice embraces
collaboration and has in recent years melded photography with sewing, collage, and
sculpture. She is interested in collapsing the traditional divide between author and
subject, the real and the imaginary, challenging entrenched binaries. «Men Untitled,»
her latest photographic series presented at the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson at
the end of 2023, explores her relationship with the ideals of masculinity in American
culture. She has received numerous awards including a Guggenheim Fellowship, the
Peter S Reed Foundation, the Lange Taylor Prize and a Pulitzer Center.
© ANDRES GONZALEZ
Lorenzo Meloni
Lorenzo Meloni focuses on the transformation of the environment by humans in the name of progress, thus continuing his project initiated for the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Through environments and spaces deeply impacted by industry and technology, he questions the technology that is both a threat and a source of hope that links us to our future.
Lorenzo Meloni’s photographs invite us to reflect on the recurring self-destructive
patterns of human behavior throughout history and its devastating consequences on
both the environment and humanity. He spent over a decade working in the Middle
East and North Africa, devoting himself to long-term projects, including charting
Libya after the fall of Gaddafi. In 2022, he published, ‘We Don’t Say Goodbye’,
(Gost), the result of 10-years of work depicting the rise, reign, fall and immediate
aftermath of the Islamic State as a territorial entity. The same year, in response
to the photographic commission launched by the French Ministry of Culture, he
started work on a project entitled “L’Arbre aux Papillons” which aims to capture
the precarious balance between urban and technological development, and man’s
relationship with nature.
Lua Ribeira
Lua Ribeira, having recently become a mother for the first time, decided to put her baby in the picture, like so many mothers before her. However, in her series “The Carers” she subverts the classic baby photo set-up and common urges of all new mothers by entrusting her charge to complete strangers met in the streets and parks of Bristol. The resulting images question her role as a mother and her own natural instinct to shield her baby from those strangers.
Stemming from her own heritage as Galician, Lua Ribeira´s work deals with
dynamics of oppression. Her practice is characterized by its collaborative nature,
extensive research and an immersive approach to her subject matter. She is
interested in using theatrical exercises to seek transformative experiences together
with the people she works with. Ribeira’s work has received several awards and
honors, including the Firecracker Grant for Women in Photography, and the
Jerwood/Photoworks award. Her first monograph ‘Subida al Cielo’ (Ascent into
Heaven) was published by Dalpine in 2023 and was shortlisted for the Aperture First
Photobook Award the same year.
© LUA RIBEIRA / XAVIER GÓMEZ
