Arles Photography Festival and Alpilles-Provence'art Face Mixed Reviews

The 2010 edition of Les Rencontres d'Arles, running from July 3 to September 19, was criticized as a lackluster year compared to the 40th anniversary edition. Directed by François Hebel, the festival featured six thematic 'promenades' including rock and punk aesthetics, Argentine photography for its bicentennial, and a problematic presentation by the Fondation Luma. Among 60 exhibitions, highlights included Marin Karmitz's collection debut, a punk and rock aesthetic show, Mick Jagger's career retrospective, and retrospectives of Mario Giacomelli, Peter Hutton, Ernst Haas, and works by Paolo Woods, Lea Golda Holterman, and Zhang Dali. The Prix Découverte, supported by Fondation Luma, awarded Taryn Simons, but concerns arose over Luma's growing influence on programming, with over a third of exhibitions tied to the foundation. The festival also featured a film by Lucy Walker on Vik Muniz. Separately, the first edition of Festival Alpilles-Provence'art took place July 8-13 in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, organized by three individuals, featuring 70 artists across 40 venues, including contributions by Pinoncelli, Villeglé, Orlan, Combas, Ramette, Georges Rousse, and Miguel Chevalier, and a dinner by Daniel Spoerri celebrating 50 years of Nouveau Réalisme.