Les Rencontres d'Arles has announced the launch of applications for the new edition of the Discovery Prize Louis Roederer Foundation (Prix Découverte Fondation Louis Roederer). The prestigious photography festival is now accepting submissions for the Discovery Prize 2026, which will be integrated into the 57th edition of the festival.
Since its inception, the Discovery Prize of Les Rencontres d'Arles has served as a springboard for emerging creative talent. The prize aims to promote the work of selected artists who will exhibit within the Discovery Prize exhibition and to reward winning projects through two distinct awards: a jury prize worth 15,000 euros and a public prize worth 5,000 euros.
Starting in 2021, Les Rencontres d'Arles has partnered the Discovery Prize with organizations that support emerging artists. These include community spaces, independent venues, artist-run spaces, hybrid exhibition spaces, galleries, institutions, and foundations that perform genuine groundbreaking work by identifying and supporting artists. These organizations serve as important advocates for photography and artists, acting as intermediaries and discoverers to present artists to the Discovery Prize whose work they have identified, followed, and accompanied.
These supporting structures can propose exhibition projects for the Discovery Prize featuring an artist they champion, particularly those whose work has been recently discovered or deserves recognition by an international audience. Projects selected for exhibition during the next edition of Les Rencontres d'Arles, as part of the Discovery Prize Louis Roederer Foundation exhibition, will receive support from the festival team and a guest curator invited by Les Rencontres d'Arles.
Applications are being accepted until December 1st. This year, the invited curator for the Discovery Prize 2026 is Nadine Hounkpatin, who will oversee the curatorial process for the selected exhibitions.
During the opening week of the festival, a jury appointed by the festival will award the Discovery Prize jury award, which recognizes an artist and the supporting organization through artwork acquisition worth 15,000 euros. Additionally, the public will select the recipient of the public prize, which will reward an artist and the supporting organization through artwork acquisition valued at 5,000 euros. Both prizes not only honor the selected artists but also acknowledge the crucial role of the organizations that support and promote emerging talent in contemporary photography.
