Arles Rencontres Nights at the Ancient Theater

📍 Ancient Theater, Arles

▪️  iDzia Installation: the sound, the lighting, the video

Three Evenings at the Ancient Theater of Arles

Every summer, the Ancient Theater of Arles transforms into an open-air stage to host numerous events related to the Rencontres de la Photographie, particularly during its opening week. For the 2026 edition, iDzia deployed an entire technical setup to support three evenings featuring screenings, award ceremonies, and performances.

An International Event

Founded in 1970, the Rencontres de la Photographie d’Arles has, over the decades, become the most important festival dedicated to the eighth art. Over forty exhibitions take over the city’s historic sites, welcoming artists, curators, collectors, and photography enthusiasts.

For its 57th edition, the Rencontres will take place from July 6 to October 4 under the theme “Worlds to Reinterpret,” with a program that notably highlights contemporary African photography.

Rencontres and Opening Nights

At the heart of the festival’s first week, the Ancient Theater brought together a large audience as well as leading figures in photography and contemporary art:

• Tuesday, July 7: Christophe Chassol, discussing the work of Edward Steichen, and Stan Douglas.

• Thursday, July 9: Alfredo Jaar, Ming Smith, the Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Olivia Arthur, and Park Chan-Wook.

• Friday, July 10: Live Magazine, for an evening of performances and visual storytelling.

These Rencontres Nights also provided an opportunity to celebrate several highlights, including the presentation of the 2026 Madame Figaro Arles Photography Prize, the 2026 Book Prize, the 2026 Dummy Book Award, and the 2026 Discovery Prize from the Louis Roederer Foundation, not to mention the tribute paid to photographer Martin Parr.

Our Setup: Sound, Lighting, and Projection

To support these evenings, the iDzia team managed the audiovisual setup: sound system, stage lighting, large-format video projections for tributes and retrospectives, as well as gobo projections to enhance the venue’s architecture.

This work requires balancing respect for the historic monument with technical demands, an expertise that iDzia brings to the Rencontres thanks to its regular presence at the Ancient Theatre and at the festival’s main iconic venues.