Women In Motion partners with Rencontres d’Arles 2022

Kering and Rencontres d'Arles present the fourth Women In Motion Award for photography to Babette Mangolte. Born in France in 1941 and based in New York since the 1970s, Babette Mangolte is a filmmaker, photographer, artist, and author of critical essays on photography. 

Curated by María Inés Rodríguez, this solo exhibition showcases the photographic and cinematic language developed by Babette Mangolte. That language is based on the camera’s subjectivity, the viewer’s central role and the human body’s relationship to space. Mangolte’s work documents the choreography and performances of Yvonne Rainer, Trisha Brown, Joan Jonas, Robert Morris, Lucinda Childs, Marina Abramović, Steve Paxton, and the 1970s theater scene in New York City.

To mark the occasion, a special supplement in the Women In Motion collection published by Fisheye magazine will be dedicated to Babette Mangolte and feature commentaries by leading experts on the cultural scene.

À l’occasion des Rencontres d’Arles 2022, Women In Motion soutient l’exposition de Susan Meiselas – lauréate du premier Prix Women In Motion pour la photographie –, en collaboration avec la compositrice Marta Gentilucci. Les deux artistes se sont associées pour capturer en images et en sons des femmes âgées et plus particulièrement leurs gestes et leur peau, faisant écho à leurs vies engagées. Elles saisissent ainsi la force vitale qui habite ces corps, l'intensité de leurs vies passées, et l'espoir tenace de la vie restant à vivre – par opposition à une représentation de la vieillesse qui se concentre sur l’absence d'opportunité, met en avant la maladie, la solitude et les privations.

For the second edition of the Women In Motion LAB, Kering and Rencontres d’Arles wished to support the efforts of artist Yto Barrada to promote Bettina Grossman's archives. After conducting a major research project, Barrada presents an exceptional body of photographic, cinematographic, and graphic work by the artist, who was inspired by conceptual sculpture. This marks the first retrospective dedicated to the late American artist.

The first edition of the Women In Motion LAB, from 2019 to 2021, highlighted the contribution of women to the world history of photography. Led by historians Luce Lebart and Marie Robert, with the help of 160 women authors from every continent, the project spotlights the careers and works of approximately 300 women who have left their mark on photography since the art form began. The project led to a book Une histoire mondiale des femmes photographes, published by Textuel.

An English-language version of the book, A World History of Women Photographers, also supported by the LAB, was published in July by Thames & Hudson. 

To further contribute to the recognition of women’s talent, Women In Motion has supported the Prix de la Photo Madame Figaro Arles since its creation in 2016. Each year, the Award recognizes a woman photographer for her creative excellence and daring. The 2022 Prix de la Photo Madame Figaro Arles was awarded to the young egyptian photographer Amina Kadous.

The jury, chaired this year by Virginie Effira, included Caroline de Maigret, Kamel Mennour, Nicolas Di Felice, Rebecca Zlotowski, Jean-Pierre Blanc, Brigitte Lacombe, Souheila Yacoub, Anne-Florence Schmitt, editorial director of Madame Figaro, Jean-Sébastien Stehli, deputy director, and Gwenola Couëdel, creative director.

Created for the Festival d’Avignon, in collaboration with Rencontres d'Arles and with support from Women In Motion, ‘Anima’ is a performance/installation created by Noémie Goudal and Maëlle Poésy. ‘Anima’ nods to Noémie Goudal’s exhibition “Phoenix,” presented at the Chapelle des Trinitaires during the Rencontres d'Arles 2022. To express the invisible metamorphoses of the landscapes and places we share, ‘Anima’ depicts a woman artist suspended within a video and music installation.