‘On Country: Photography from Australia’, Rencontres d'Arles 2025. Courtesy PHOTO Australia. Photo: Will Hamilton–Coates.
Now open – On Country: Photography from Australia premieres at the Rencontres d'Arles
7.7.25
Co-produced by PHOTO Australia Melbourne and the Rencontres d’Arles, the exhibition marks the first-ever major presentation of Australian photography at the world’s longest-running photo festival, with 15 of the exhibiting artists attending Opening Week celebrations in the south of France 7–13 July.
July 2025 Arles, France — PHOTO Australia and Rencontres d’Arles proudly announce that On Country: Photography from Australia is now open, making its highly anticipated world premiere at the Rencontres d’Arles photography festival from 7 July to 5 October 2025.
This historic collaboration is the first time the Rencontres d’Arles has dedicated a regional focus to Australian photography, celebrating the richness and diversity of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian artists on one of the most prestigious stages in the world.
Curated by Elias Redstone (Founder & Artistic Director, PHOTO Australia), Kimberley Moulton (Yorta Yorta), Pippa Milne, and Brendan McCleary, this stunning exhibition brings together more than 200 powerful photographic works by 17 trailblazing Australian artists — from celebrated names like Tony Albert (Kuku Yalanji), Maree Clarke (Yorta Yorta/Wamba Wamba/Mutti Mutti/Boonwurrung), Brenda L Croft (Gurindji/Malngin/Mudburra) and Atong Atem, to dynamic emerging talents making their international debut.
The exhibition explores the deep connections First Peoples hold to being ‘On Country’ — a term describing connections to land, waterways, seas, and skies — and celebrates contemporary Australian photography in all its complexity.
Australian photography is set to have a major impact at the Rencontres d’Arles 2025, with the On Country exhibition placed front and centre in the largest city venue within the Arles festival, the Église Sainte-Anne.
More than 160,000 festival-goers are expected to experience the Rencontres d’Arles this summer.
Key highlights for On Country: Photography from Australia visitors include:
- Warakurna Superheroes, the joyful and poignant series by Tony Albert, David Charles Collins and Kieran Lawson, created in collaboration with children from the remote Northern Territory community of Warakurna.
- Warakurna Superheroes #1 has been selected as the hero image to represent the entire Arles 2025 festival across all branding, catalogues, signage, and merchandise, a testament to the prominence of the On Country exhibition at this year’s season.
- Capemba Bumbarra, a 38-metre cyanotype by Sonja Carmichael & Elisa Jane Carmichael (Ngugi/Quandamooka), evoking the journey of fresh water through the landscape to the ocean.
- Maree Clarke’s Ritual and Ceremony, an immersive installation including a three-metre portrait of the late Elder, Uncle Jack Charles — an unmissable tribute at the heart of the exhibition.
- A choir Performance held in the Saint Anne Church exhibition space by Djinama Yilaga, an intergenerational Australian First Nations choir comprising Menero-Ngarigo and Dhurga-Yuin performers/singers. Djinama Yilaga actively revitalizes languages in order to connect with Ancestors, Community, and Country, with many appearing in the powerful portraits by Brenda L Croft featured in the exhibition.
Full List of Exhibiting Artists in Alphabetical order:
Tony Albert & David Charles Collins
Ying Ang
Atong Atem
Sonja Carmichael & Elisa Jane Carmichael
Maree Clarke
Michael Cook
Brenda L Croft
J Davies
Liss Fenwick
Adam Ferguson
Robert Fielding
The Huxleys
Ricky Maynard
Lisa Sorgini
Tace Stevens
wani toaishara
James Tylor
Australian artists’ presence will be felt on the ground for the Opening Week events and celebrations in Arles July 7–13, with 15 of the exhibiting artists attending Arles and participating in events from book launches, panel discussions, and performances.
The accompanying catalogue, On Country: Photography from Australia, published by Melbourne’s Perimeter Editions, features work by the 17 exhibiting artists and collectives, texts by curators Pippa Milne, Brendan McCleary, Kimberley Moulton, and Elias Redstone, plus a newly commissioned essay by Kelli Cole (Warumungu/Luritja), Director of Curatorial and Engagement, National Aboriginal Art Gallery. The catalogue launches at the Arles Book Fair on July 8 and offers deeper insight into these vibrant photographic practices and their cultural significance, extending the exhibition’s reach beyond its physical space and creating a resource on Australian photographic practice now. The catalogue is available for purchase worldwide via Perimeter Books.
On Country: Photography from Australia, 2025. Published by PHOTO Australia and Perimeter Editions, Naarm/Melbourne, Australia.
On Country: Photography from Australia marks a significant development in Australia’s international artistic profile and is the result of PHOTO Australia’s efforts championing Australian photography on the global stage. Following a series of international partnerships with the Victoria & Albert Museum and The Photographers’ Gallery, London, and CONTACT Photography Festival, Toronto, the newly announced partnership with the Rencontres d’Arles comes as PHOTO Australia also shapes the next PHOTO 2026 Festival in Melbourne/Naarm, taking place 06–29 March 2026.
On Country: Photography from Australia is open now at the Rencontres d’Arles 2025 from 7 July to 5 October 2025. The exhibition is co-produced by PHOTO Australia, Melbourne and the Rencontres d’Arles, France with support from the Australian Government through the International Cultural Diplomacy Arts Fund, the Bowness Family Foundation, and FACEF – French Australian Cultural Exchange Foundation. Additional support by the Australian Embassy, France and the French Embassy in Australia, and Michael & Emily Tong.
Elias Redstone, Curator, ‘On Country: Photography from Australia’ and Founder/Artistic Director, PHOTO Australia:
“’On Country: Photography from Australia’ is a significant moment for Australian photography, amplifying the depth and diversity of our artists on a prestigious global platform. This exhibition is the result of years of dedicated advocacy by PHOTO Australia to ensure Australian photographers are seen, heard, and celebrated internationally. By bringing these works to Arles, we are not only elevating the voices of these artists but also reinforcing Australia’s significant contribution to contemporary photography. We are incredibly proud to see this advocacy come to fruition through this landmark partnership with the Rencontres d’Arles, and to see so many artists in attendance for the Opening Week.”
Kimberley Moulton, Guest Curator, ‘On Country: Photography from Australia’; Adjunct Curator Indigenous Art, Tate and Senior Curator, RISING Festival:
“The land we know as Australia is made of hundreds of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations, with complex relationships to waterways, the cosmos, land, the subterranean and embodied knowledge that sits in a relational space of past, present and future, this is what we call Country. Today we share Country with many guests that also make it their home and through this exhibition we profile the multiplicity of connections and relationships within this, from our Ancestral pasts to our political and social present. ‘On Country: Photography from Australia’ is an important moment in positioning significant photography from Australia to a global audience emphasising the local and the transnational pertinence of their work.”
Christoph Wiesner, Director, The Rencontres d’Arles:
“Bringing ‘On Country: Photography from Australia’ to the Rencontres d’Arles 2025 marks a monumental moment in the recognition of Australian photography on the world stage, and is certainly the most significant showing of Australian artists ever at the Arles festival. This exhibition not only introduces international audiences to the breadth and complexity of contemporary Australian photographic practices but also creates a powerful dialogue on land, history, and identity that many European audiences may not be aware of. We are honoured to be the first to showcase such a significant body of work in Arles.”
Lynette Wood, Australian Ambassador to France:
“’On Country: Photography from Australia,’ is a testament to the vibrant and diverse artistic talent that Australia has to offer. It beautifully showcases the depth of our cultural heritage and contemporary practices. Cultural cooperation between France and Australia, as highlighted in the Australia-France Roadmap, is crucial in strengthening our bilateral relationship. By bringing this exhibition to the Rencontres d’Arles, we are not only celebrating Australian photography but also fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation between our two nations.”
