PHOTO Australia has announced a major partnership with the Rencontres d'Arles photography festival, marking the first time Australia will be the focus of a regional exhibition at the prestigious French event.
Curated by PHOTO Australia founder and artistic director Elias Redstone, guest curator Kimberley Moulton (Yorta Yorta), and PHOTO Australia curators Pippa Milne and Brendan McCleary, On Country: Photography from Australia will be presented in Arles from 7 July to 5 October 2025.
The exhibition will showcase the work of 17 Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists, exploring the concept of being on Country through more than 200 photographic works.
Ms Moulton said the exhibition highlights the complex relationships First Peoples have with land, waterways, and the cosmos.
"The land we know as Australia is made of hundreds of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations, with complex relationships to waterways, the cosmos, land, the subterranean and embodied knowledge that sits in a relational space of past, present and future, this is what we call Country," she said.
"Today we share Country with many guests that also make it their home and through this exhibition we profile the multiplicity of connections and relationships within this, from our Ancestral pasts to our political and social present."
The exhibition features established artist's including; Tony Albert (Kuku Yalanji) & David Charles Collins, Ying Ang, Atong Atem, Elisa Jane Carmichael (Ngugi/Quandamooka) & Sonja Carmichael (Ngugi/Quandamooka), Maree Clarke (Yorta Yorta/Wamba Wamba/Mutti Mutti/Boonwurrung), Michael Cook (Bidjara), Brenda L Croft (Gurindji/Malngin/Mudburra), J Davies, Liss Fenwick, Adam Ferguson, Robert Fielding (Yankunytjatjara/Western Arrernte peoples) The Huxleys – Will Huxley & Garrett Huxley (Gumbaynggirr/Yorta Yorta), Ricky Maynard (Pakana), Lisa Sorgini, Tace Stevens (Noongar/Spinifex), wani toaishara and James Tylor (Kaurna).
PHOTO Australia artistic director, Elias Redstone, said the exhibition is the result of years of advocacy to elevate Australian photography on the world stage.
"On Country: Photography from Australia is a significant moment for Australian photography, amplifying the depth and diversity of our artists on a prestigious global platform, he said.
"This exhibition is the result of years of dedicated advocacy by PHOTO Australia to ensure Australian photographers are seen, heard, and celebrated internationally.
"By bringing these works to Arles, we are not only elevating the voices of these artists but also reinforcing Australia's significant contribution to contemporary photography."
The exhibition will take place in the historic Eglise Saint-Anne, a deconsecrated church built in the 1600s, and will be a central feature of the Rencontres d'Arles, which attracts around 160,000 visitors each year.
A dedicated catalogue, On Country: Photography from Australia, will be published by Perimeter Editions, featuring an essay by Kelli Cole (Warumungu/Luritja) to extend the exhibition's reach.
PHOTO Australia's partnership with the Rencontres d'Arles follows previous collaborations with the Victoria & Albert Museum, The Photographers' Gallery in London, and CONTACT Photography Festival in Toronto.
The exhibition is supported by the Australian Government's International Cultural Diplomacy Arts Fund and the Bowness Family Foundation.
Tony Albert, David Charles Collins and Kieran Lawson, Warakurna Superheroes. (Image: Supplied)
