These photographs by Dexter Navy take us behind the scenes of the 2023 Dior Photography and Visual Arts Award for Young Talents, which recently took place during the Luma Arles photography fair. Every year photographers descend on the French city of Arles for the fair, which sees images from some of the industry’s most pre-eminent modern talents on display, amid the ruins of this former capital of ancient Rome.
Among the fair’s highlights, the annual Dior Photography and Visual Arts Award for Young Talents invites a group of emerging talents from around the world to respond to the recurrent annual theme of ‘Face to Face’, with the final presentation judged by a rotating panel of celebrated industry figures.
This year’s panel featured Brazilian photographer Rafael Pavarotti, Belgian photographer Barbara Iweins, French art historian and photographer Damarice Amao, creative and image director for Dior Make-Up Peter Philips, as well as competition regulars Maja Hoffmann, president and founder of Luma Arles, and Simon Baker, director of the Maison Europeenne de le Photographie in Paris.
Iris Millot wins Dior Photography and Visual Arts Award for Young Talents
The jury named Iris Millot, a young Arles-based photographer, the winner for her visual narration of the life of her great-aunt Hélène, who has been cultivating an isolated family farm for over 40 years. The result is a moving meditation on one individual’s life as well as a more expansive commentary on the history of farming and its future in our current climate.
Millot was among the 12 finalists for the prize, including talents from Mexico, the Netherlands, China and more. Their work will be on show at the Grande Halle Ouest, until 24 September 2023.
Here, we share London photographer Dexter Navy’s documentation of the event. Navy, who was invited by Parfums Christian Dior to train his unique eye on the proceedings, called the fair ‘a beautiful daydream where people from all over the world come to celebrate photography’. Where you can come to see ‘all the different point of view; some were adventurous some extremely personal – it was nice to be reminded that all your emotions can be expressed in photography! I also think, established or not, you can always learn from others and if you’re not constantly evolving, then you’re doing something wrong.’
