'Photographes Voyageuses', a poetic and feminine exhibition
Until January 31, 2026, five major women photography artists are exhibiting at villa Théo.
And during the opening, there was a great crowd around the mayor with photographers Blanche Hannequin and Bernard Plossu (Grand Prix National de la photographie in 1988 and patron of the event), He Youlin, Consul Général de la République populaire de Chine à Marseille. Not to mention a large audience eager to admire the 66 photos taken by these 5 women.
LOOK IN BLACK AND WHITE In the introduction, Raphaël Dupouy, curator of the exhibition, set the scene: 'To travel is to cross multiple borders (...) For a woman, it is sometimes to cross barriers, beyond geographical limits. It is to reclaim public space and to deploy oneself outside of assigned territories.
It is to refuse invisibility and to make movement a ground for emancipation where every step, every image, becomes an affirmation.
The exhibition offers our visitors the vision of five major artists by honoring their singular gaze in black and white. You will find, as a universal language, a play of shadows and lights to reveal the human, the movement, the poetry of the daily life of these 5 artists' (...)
Then, the councillor delegate for culture continued on the meeting of the other's world and especially of oneself: 'For the women we are celebrating today, this journey takes on an additional dimension. It becomes an act of freedom, a gesture of emancipation, a way of reclaiming public space and enriching its contours. With this presentation, we follow the journey of these five artists who have crossed continents, crossed thresholds, explored cities, suspended moments'.
5 artists and 66 works: • Sabine Weiss, a key figure in humanist photography, is known for her portraits and street scenes captured around the world. • Agnès Varda, a complete artist of cinema and photography, whose curious eye was set on Cuba, Paris and many other horizons. • Françoise Nunez, a tireless traveler, who immortalized l'Inde, l'Afrique or even le Chili with a rare sensitivity.
• Marie-Blanche Anika, explorer of the lands of Asie centrale, deserts and less frequented paths, where silence dialogues with light. • Shirley Baker, a British photographer with a tender and humorous gaze, who immortalized le Lavandou in the 1970s-1980s, thus creating an intimate bond with the territory.
'Photographes Voyageuses' at the centre d'art Villa Théo. 265, avenue Van Rysselberghe. www. villa-theo. fr.
Francine MARIE (text and photo).