Int'l photo festival in Xiamen unveils winners

The highly anticipated awards for the 10th edition of the Jimei × Arles International Photo Festival were recently announced during its opening week.

Artist Jia Yu was awarded the prestigious "Jimei × Arles Discovery Award" for his work Strangers, emerging victorious among eight finalists. He received a prize money of 100,000 yuan ($13,751) and an invitation to hold a solo exhibition at the 2025 Rencontres d'Arles in France.

Jia Yu, currently residing in Xining, the capital city of Northwest China's Qinghai province, spent his formative years in the Yushu Tibetan autonomous prefecture. His deep connection to the plateau where he grew up has been a driving force behind his photography.

Between 2003 and 2012, Jia Yu, concerned about the livelihoods of local herders, traveled between his hometown of Yushu and Xining, capturing family portraits of the Khampa Tibetans and documenting their daily lives in the mountain villages.

"Tibetans are the only people in the world who can live above 4,000 meters altitude, which is their contribution to humanity," Jia Yu said. His photography aims to raise awareness and understanding of their way of life.

In 2020, Jia Yu embarked on a poignant journey to reunite with the pastoralists he had photographed, returning the images to them. The pastoralists reciprocated with gifts as a token of gratitude for preserving their visual memories during a time when cameras were scarce.

During finding the "strangers", he discovered that the herders' lives in the Tibetan area have undergone profound changes, with traditional nomadic life gradually replaced by modern way of life.

At the award ceremony, Cristina De Middel, president of Magnum Photos, said, "As a jury, we are honored to recognize a project that stands out for its sincere simplicity. In an increasingly uncertain future of imagery, such work serves as a reminder of the fundamental essence of photography: the connection between people."

"The work returns to the essence of photography: helping us understand who we are and preserving the memories of who we once were. It reaffirms the role of photography as a tool for connection and reflection, encouraging us to look beyond aesthetic considerations and contemplate its deeper impacts," she added.

Another prestigious award, the "Jimei × Arles Curatorial Award for Photography and Moving Image", was won by Yi-Ning Lin and Chia-Shin Yang for their work Metal Odyssey.

Metal Odyssey explores the symbolism of "metal" in relation to patients and medical instruments, delving into the trauma and memories associated with life's challenges. The exhibition merges medical records with everyday images, delving into caregiving dynamics and bodily memories through intimate dialogues. Presented in a documentary style, it reflects on the patient's journey, inviting viewers to reflect on their own photo albums and the intertwining of art and reality.

Christoph Wiesner, co-director of the Jimei × Arles International Photo Festival, said that, "Metal Odyssey offers a unique dual perspective from both the artists and curators. This project stems from profound intimate experiences with illness and family relationships, skillfully utilizing and integrating medical documents, personal annotations, and imagery, transforming them into conceptual expressions."

The exhibition will be displayed at the Three Shadows Photography Art Centre in Beijing in spring next year. Award-winning curators Yi-Ning Lin and Chia-Shin Yang will participate in the "Imaging Curator Award" incubation program, engaging in academic research, international exchange activities, and receiving a cash prize of 100,000 yuan to further their curation endeavors.

Moreover, the 2024 Jimei × Arles International Photo Festival hosted an "experts meeting", inviting renowned artists, critics, and curators in the field of visual arts to engage in one-on-one discussions and portfolio reviews with emerging art creators. At the meeting, artist Du Shangheng was awarded the newly established Portfolio Review Award.

Yu Miao, a curator, researcher, and image creator, said that, "When Du Shangheng presented his portfolio to me, I saw three tranquil flowing rivers. Behind this tranquility lies endless clamor and echoes, which originate from the depths of history and resonate from within people's hearts."

The Jimei × Arles International Photo Festival serves as a cultural and artistic exchange project between Xiamen's Jimei district and France's Rencontres d'Arles. This year, the festival's 10th edition opened in Xiamen of Fujian province on Nov 29 and will run until Jan 12.

The festival features 23 exhibitions showcasing 2,000 works by artists from China, France, Spain, Germany, India, Japan, Canada and the United States.

To further deepen the cultivation of talents in the field of image curation, the festival has innovatively introduced the "Image Curation Creative Camp" project this year, with experts from the curation, image field, and local cultural studies sharing professional insights and practical experiences with the participants.