XIAMEN.- Ninth edition Jimei x Arles International Photo Festival will take place from 15 December 2023 to 21 January 2024 in Xiamen, China.
Co-initiated by Three Shadows Photography Art Centre and Les Rencontres d'Arles in 2015, Jimei x Arles International Photo Festival supports and encourages the creation, study and curation of Chinese photography so as to facilitate its presence on the international stage.
Since its inception, the festival has presented nearly 300 exhibitions from China and other Asian countries, as well as a selection of outstanding works from Les Rencontres d'Arles. Over 600 artists’ works have been presented and the festival has attracted a total of 430,000 visitors.
• This year the ninth edition establishes an Art Committee including director of Les Rencontres d’Arles Christoph Wiesner, noted photography critic Gu Zheng, co-founder of Singapore International Photography Festival (SIPF) and founding director of DECK Gwen Lee, Chinese contemporary photographer and co-founder of Three Shadows Photography Art Centre RongRong, executive director of Three Shadows Photography Art Centre Yan Qi.
• The Art Committee takes over the Art Directors’ jobs to co-organize 32 exhibitions, featuring works by over a hundred artists from France, Germany, the United States, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
• “Jimei x Arles Discovery Award” and “Curatorial Award for Photography and Moving Image” will announce this year’s winners during the opening week of the festival.
• Starting from this year, the festival has established the 'Dummy Book Award,' aimed at encouraging and supporting artists in their creative endeavors centered around photography books.
• The exhibitions will take place at Jimei Art Centre and Three Shadows Xiamen Photography Art Centre, as well as in galleries and art schools in Xiamen and Fuzhou as the sub-venues. The Jimei Art Centre is located on the 1st to 4th floors of the podium of the Jimei Chengyi International Business Center, an iconic landmark in Xiamen. It will be open to the public for the first time as the main venue of the festival.
• The “Isles Project” was launched this year under the theme of “Art is Never Alone.” Centered around the festival's main venue, this project radiates and collaborates with diverse cultural, artistic, and living spaces, inviting the audience to embark on an urban art stroll.
• During the opening week from 15 to 17 December, a series of engaging activities, including the opening ceremony, portfolio reviews, lectures, workshops, artist-guided tours, performances, and educational tours, will warmly welcome you to the vibrant city of Xiamen!
Exhibitions from Arles
The “Exhibitions from Arles” section aims to synchronize Chinese audience with the freshest international perspectives. This July, Les Rencontres d’Arles opened with the theme of “A state of consciousness”, among which seven selected exhibitions will be toured in China: “My Polaroid Friends” by Wim Wenders; a part of the “SØSTERSKAP, Contemporary Nordic Photography” exhibition starring artists Jeannette Ehlers, Fryd Frydendahl, Bente Geving, Heiða Helgadóttir, Hannah Modigh and Emma Sarpaniemi, curated by Elina Heikka, Anna-Kaisa Rastenberger, Charlotte Præstegaard Schwartz, Æsa Sigurjónsdóttir, Nina Strand, Susanne Østby Sæther and Anna Tellgren; “Hoja Santa (Holy Leaf)” by Maciejka Art, curated by Ramon Pez; “COSMOVISIÓN” by Garush Melkonyan. The Rencontres d’Arles Discovery Award, curated by Tanvi Mishra in Arles 2023, presents in Jimei two projects: “Caribbean Dreams” by Samantha Box, presented by Tiger Strikes Asteroid (New York, United States) and “The Ajaib Ghar Archive” by Philippe Calia, presented by Tarq (Mumbai, India). And finally, as in previous years, the spotlight will be on photography publishing with the presentation of our 2023 Book Award shortlist and winners.
Jimei x Arles Discovery Award
The establishment of the Jimei x Arles Discovery Award aims to discover and promote Chinese talented photographers on the international stage. This year, four curators are invited to nominate a total of eight photographers as finalists. The prize winner will receive a prize of RMB 100,000 (pre-tax) and will be invited to hold a solo exhibition at the next edition of the Rencontres d'Arles in France, representing a new force of Chinese photography. The participating artists of this year’s “Jimei x Arles Discovery Award” include Li Dan (Exhibition: “Samples of Air”) and Liu Guangli (Exhibition: “Katabasis”), nominated by curator Chen Min; Lahem (Exhibition:“Modernity's Fracture: The Odyssey of Returning Hometown”) and Wu MeiChi (Exhibition: “Baby’s Baby”), nominated by curator Joanna Fu; Wu Yuhang (Exhibition: “Fragmentary”) and Zhang Lanpo (Exhibition: “A Multitude of Riddles, in Stasis, in the Open”), nominated by curator He Bo; btr (Exhibition: “A.I.R.”) and Yu Guo (Exhibition: “Layered Views”), nominated by curator Yao Siqing.
Jimei x Arles Curatorial Award for Photography and Moving Image
The Jimei x Arles Curatorial Award for Photography and Moving Image was co-launched by the Three Shadows Photography Art Centre and CHANEL in October 2021. Its mission is to support young creative forces in photography and moving image art: to discover and nurture outstanding young Chinese curators and researchers working with these mediums, as well as to encourage cross-disciplinary research centered around them. Alongside the open call for curatorial proposals, master courses on curation will be organized, after which a professional committee will be convened to select the finalists and the winner. The finalists’ proposals will be presented during the Jimei x Arles International Photo Festival as a group exhibition, while the winning proposal will be presented at the Three Shadows Photography Art Centre (Beijing), as well as in other selected cities in China as a travelling exhibition. The winner will also have access to a mentorship and exchange program they hold yearly and a cash prize of RMB 100,000.
This yeart, the third Jimei x Arles Curatorial Award for Photography and Moving Image attracted 53 valid submissions. Five curatorial proposals were selected by the jury committee following two rounds of selection and will be showcased as a group exhibition at the 9th Jimei x Arles International Photo Festival. These selected proposals include “Bodies of Informatics” (Curatorial Team: Gwendoline Cho-ning Kam & Li Suchao), “The Via Combusta” (Curatorial Team: Gan Yingying & Zhou Yichen), “Beyond the View” (Curator: Wang Jiayi), “Song for the Luddites” (Curator: Feng Junyuan), and “Intimacies of Excess” (Curator: Wang Wenjia). The winner of this award will be selected and announced during the opening week.
Greetings from Asia
“Greetings from Asia” aims to discover the dynamic pulse of photography in the Asia region. In past editions, this section has highlighted the photography scene of various Asian countries, including Thailand (2022), Singapore (2021), Japan (2020), India (2019), South Korea (2018), and Indonesia (2017). This year, the section presents a group show titled “Archipelago: Paradise Revisit”, curated by Singaporean curator Gwen Lee, a member of Jimei x Arles Art Committee. This exhibition showcases artists from the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Cambodia. The artists include ANG Song Nian, Charles Lim Yi Yong, Eiffel Chong, Elizabeth Gabrielle Lee, LIM Sokchanlina, Miti Ruangkritya, MM Yu, nor, Poklong Anading, Wawi Navarroza, and Wilfred Lim.
Outer Regard
The “Outer Regard” section of Jimei x Arles is proud to present the exhibition “Color” by renowned Taiwanese artist and aesthete Cheng Tsun-shing. This exhibition pays tribute to his extraordinary commitment to the development of Chinese art. Cheng Tsun-shing has long been engaged in the fields of aesthetics, philosophy, psychoanalysis, moving image art, etc. “Color” is the third episode of his “Personal Psycho History Trilogy” and features color-film works he shot in Europe during the 1970s. The exhibition is curated by two members of the Jimei x Arles Art Committee: Gu Zheng and Yan Qi.
Collector’s Tale
The "Collector’s Tale" emphasizes the endeavors of photography collectors and collecting institutions across Asia. This year, “The Third Eye of History”, curated by Xiao Ruiyun, unveils the cherished collection of Mr. Liu Gang, showcasing a photographic album that chronicles the visit of the Great White Fleet to Xiamen during the late Qing Dynasty. It includes 38 original album prints documenting the entire process of this visit, which is a witness to Xiamen’s role as one of the treaty ports in modern Chinese history. Additionally, the exhibition will display artifacts related to this historic event from the collection of Xiamen-based collector, Mr. Chen Yayuan. Rather than constructing a grand narrative, the exhibition aims to delve into the microhistory of these visual images.
China Pulse
The “China Pulse” section joins hands with Chinese higher art-education institutions to showcase the new force of Chinese photography. This year Jimei x Arles invites the Major of Photography, Department of Information Art & Design, Academy of Arts and & Design, Tsinghua University to present “Forever Young: Tsinghua University Academy of Arts & Design Photography Education Exhibition”. This exhibition borrows its name from the lyrics inheriting the spirit of Tsinghua University’s motto, “Wuwen Xidong (Forever Young)”. It consists of two parts, namely, “Literature and Performance” and “Fiction and Experiment”, which review and trace back the 30-year history of photography education at the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University. This exhibition will be curated by Feng Jianguo, the artists include Degjinhuu, Feng Jianguo, Gao Yuan, Huang Qiujie, Juan Zi, Lei Lei, Li Tong, Liu Silin, Liu Zirui, Ma Sen, Ma Haoran, Mao Wei, RongRong, Sun Yan, Wang Wei, Wang Shiran, Wang Wenbo, Zhang Yinghan.
Crossover Photography
The “Crossover Photography” section exhibits the clash between multimedia and diverse perspectives. This year, it presents the works of actress Huang Xiangli, sculptor Jiang Sheng, and film photographer and director Yu Likwai. On the tenth anniversary of Huang Xiangli’s monodrama “Letter from an Unknown Woman,” she initiated her latest photography project, the “When I Face Alone - 100 Letters from Unknown Women” art project. These Polaroids will be presented alongside the artist's photographic creations from many years in the exhibition “Clumsily Burgeoning.” The project and the exhibition are curated by Liu Chang and supported by CHANEL. Jiang Sheng’s photographic works in the ”The Image Is Still Current” exhibition mirror his background in sculpture, influencing his perspectives on the relationship between humans and nature. This experience fosters a dynamic spiritual connection between the audience and his creations. Yu Likwai’s exhibition, “Already it is dusk”, curated by Hai Jie, seeks to transport lost souls into a dream realm through photographs and GIFs derived from film production.
Local Action
“Local Action” triggers the local growth of photography art. Three Shadows Photography Art Centre and Luchao Kulangsu Art Park jointly launched the “Artist Residency Program”. From the open call this year, two artists, Shu Chutian and Pocono Zhao Yu, were selected for a one-month residency in Kulangsu, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and known as a Historic International Settlement. The residency-achievement exhibition, 'The Island, Lowercased: Time-Space Beyond the Map,' is curated by Li Zijian. In Fuzhou, G-Lake Art Gallery will present the exhibition “Metropolitical Retreat”, curated by Lin Linfeng, which adopts the city as a metaphor for the shadows of Plato’s cave, soothing the dilemma of reality and becoming a shelter for the soul. The Institute of Creativity and Innovation, Xiamen University will hold the exhibition “Umwelt-atlas”, (Academic Host: Qin Jian; General Director: Chen Min; Curator: Long Yitang and Chang Lan). From the perspective of environmental media, it initiates a medium archaeology of present and an On-Site Curating based on Xiamen/Southern Fujian. This year, Jimei x Arles International Photo Festival joins hands with One Seed Domestic Workers Care Foundation to present the exhibition “A Room of One’s Own”（curated by Xiao Ruiyun）. This is a unique exhibition that integrates the concepts of “Home” and “Women-only Space” and echoes One Seed Domestic Workers Care Foundation’s concern for women, aiming to call attention to female creators and to explore the position and influence in the creative field of more and more “hers”.
vivo VISION + Exhibition
The Jimei x Arles International Photo Festival, in collaboration with its Premium Imaging Partner, vivo, presents the "vivo VISION + Exhibition" The exhibition is curated by RongRong, co-founder of the Jimei x Arles festival, and includes mobile photography works by artists such as Alex Webb and Francesco Gola. It also features a selection of outstanding submissions from over 40 countries and regions, totaling 212,265 entries. Each image captures a moment of life. Each frozen frame holds new potential. In this rapidly changing and uncertain era, "adding one more shot" is one of the few certainties in our lives, a precious testament to our ability to capture moments and emotions, and a source of calm amid the chaos of the world. The “vivo VISION + Exhibition” aims to showcase a dynamic aesthetics of images, awakening everyone's perception and expression of contemporary life through mobile photography, fostering imagination and creativity in daily life. It also extends an invitation to global creators to participate in the 2024 vivo VISION +, expecting more people to enjoy creating, anticipate life, capture it with passion, and "add one more shot." The competition will officially begin its call for entries on 13 November 2023.
It's Been Many Years
Jimei x Arles, in collaboration with its Imaging Partner FUJIFILM, presents the exhibition “It's Been Many Years”, featuring the works of dozens of artists including Feng Li, Guo Mei, Chi Haibo, Xiong Hanquan, Chen Lei, Cheng Xueli, Sun Zhijun, Yu Jia, Kong Lingkai, Chen Jingwen, Tang Xiaoping, Wu Shenjie, etc. Their works transcend geographical boundaries, capturing incredible moments in time, documenting destruction and rebirth, and at times, reshaping the distant past.
Curved Lines
The exhibition “Curved Lines,” a collaboration between FUJIFILM and Magnum Photos, features works by three photographers from Magnum Photos: Alessandra Sanguinetti, Emin Özmen, and Gregory Halpern. The exhibition is curated by Philipp Ebeling.
2023 Leica Oskar Barnack Award Exhibition
The Leica Oskar Barnack Award (LOBA), established in 1980, marks the centenary of Oscar Barnack's birth (1879-1936). He is the inventor of the first modern compact camera, the “Ur-Leica,” and the 35mm film. The award’s primary purpose is to recognize photographers with a sharp sense of observation and the ability to vividly depict humanitarian aspects and the relationship between humanity and the environment.
Following 2011, the LOBA Newcomer Award once again went to a young Chinese photographer in 2023. Photographer Le Ziyi from Fujian captured the faces of young people in a foreign land through his series titled “New Comer”. His imagery reflects their self-doubt, detachment, emptiness, and their quest for personal development and social standing.
The 2023 LOBA main award was claimed by Ismael Ferdous. He employed a keen photographic eye and a vibrant contemporary style to skillfully demonstrate the collision and fusion of cultures at Cox's Bazar Beach Resort in his series “Sea Beach.”
Space on Paper - Jimei x Arles Book Exhibition
As a significant and unique medium for presenting photography, photobooks have always garnered attention from artists. The study of photography theory has also remained a focal point in the realms of visual culture and communication studies. The “Space on Paper - Jimei x Arles Book Exhibition” continues its focus on the development of contemporary photobooks over the past year, endeavoring to collect and showcase outstanding photography books and publications on photography theory from around the world. Additionally, this year's book exhibition introduces the “Jimei x Arles Dummy Book Award”, open to unpublished sample books and handcrafted photography portfolios. Winners will receive a prize of RMB 10,000 (pre-tax), encouraging and supporting artists in their creative endeavors rooted in photography books.
