France's renowned Arles photo fest goes 'beneath the surface'
The Peninsula
Arles, France: One of the world s most renowned photo festivals, in the French town of Arles, returned this week with a timely ode to diversity at a m...
Arles, France: One of the world's most renowned photo festivals, in the French town of Arles, returned this week with a timely ode to diversity at a moment when France is turning towards the far right.
The Rencontres festival, which runs until September 29, is spread across 27 venues in the ancient cobbled streets of this former Roman town in Provence and has been running since 1970.
This year's theme is "Beneath the Surface", seeking to delve into diversity without the usual caricatures around minorities.
The star exhibition is a world-first retrospective for US portrait artist Mary Ellen Mark (1940-2015), who worked for magazines like Life and Rolling Stone.
One of her celebrated images features an Icelandic child resting on the neck of a horse that focuses attention away from the boy's disability.