30th Visa pour l’Image – Perpignan

30 Years,
Already!
Or Only 30 Years?
Flashback to 1989, to the very first Visa pour l’Image Festival. There were very few captions, or none at all, and no titles for the exhibitions. It was all a bit “cottage industry,” but there was great enthusiasm and dedication. The first evening shows in Perpignan, at the Palais des Rois de Majorque, were done with slides, and the moisture in the air with the heat from the projectors formed weird patterns of condensation.
It was the first festival, but it was deemed a success. We felt that the idea could work, that there really was something to be done for all those people working in photography and the press. It was the heyday for photo agencies. We obviously needed to get bigger, and we did.
A few years later, we’d reached the age of seven, the age of reason, and while a bit surprised that we were still around, the success continued.
Then we made it to the 10th year, the 15th, the 20th, the 25th, and now it’s 30. Thirty years is not a full lifetime, but it’s a good half.
First of all, thanks are due to those who have been here since the very beginning, and to those who joined us in the second year, and to all the others, all the teams and workers, and the loyal partners, both public and private, who have been with us for so long. And, yes, we’ll even thank the small number of supporters who have left us. You have all helped us grow and develop. And last but not least, we wish to thank the public, the steadily increasing numbers of visitors and audiences, our loyal followers.
The original idea has not changed, the concept being to rediscover certain photographers sometimes overlooked, to endorse new talented photographers, and to give an opportunity for young photographers to be seen and make a name. The list of around 840 exhibitions put on since 1989 stands as clear evidence that we have not changed. Not changed? Some may see this as a downside, but we see it as a guiding line, an editorial line. It can be seen with projects in the past and others presented for the future and which cite Visa pour l’Image as a reference. Surely this is recognition of work accomplished.
This year, therefore, with the same dedication and the same enthusiasm, we look forward to seeing you in Perpignan.

Jean-François Leroy

EXHIBITIONS
Samuel Bollendorff – Contamination, or après moi le déluge
Paula Bronstein – Stateless, stranded and unwanted. The Rohingya crisis
Andrea Bruce – A place to go, open defecation and sanitation
Miquel Dewever Plana – Bolivia, vale un Potosí
Marc Dozier – Bomana, A new idea of prison in the tropics
Kevin Frayer – Desperate journey: The Rohingya exodus
Edgard Garrido – Hope, despair and the distant promise of America
Khalil Hamra – Why Gaza?
Olivier Jobard – Ghorban, DOB non-existent
Catalina Martin-Chico – Colombia: (Re)Birth
Alice Martins – Welcome to free Raqqa
Yan Morvan – Bobby Sands, Belfast, May 1981. « our revenge will be the laughter of our children »
James Oatway – The red ants
Noël Quidu – Syria on my mind
George Steinmetz – Big Food
Luis Tato – Kenya elections 2017: « Kura Yangu ina Thamani »
Jonathan Torgovnik – Hijacked life in Johannesburg inner city
Gaël Turine – Rivers devastated
Stephan Vanfleteren – The worlds of the stars
Véronique de Viguerie – Yemen: The hidden war
John Wessels – Trapped in the DRC
30 Years on
Humanitarian Visa d’or award – ICRC – Retrospective 2011-2018
International Daily Press
World Press Photo

Visa d’or
Visa d’or News Award: Véronique de Viguerie
Visa d’or Fearture Award: James Oatway
Visa d’or Daily Press Award: Libération (France)
ICRC Humanitarian Visa d’or Award – International Committee of the Red Cross: Véronique de Viguerie
Figaro Magazine Lifetime Achievement Visa d’or Award: Sabine Weiss
Visa d’or franceinfos: Award for the Best Digital News Story: Valentine Van Vyve & Olivier Papegnies

Awards
Canon Female Photojournalist Award: Laura Morton
Ville de Perpignan Rémi Ochlik Award: Luis Tato
Pierre et Alexandra Boulat Award: Jérôme Sessini
Prix Photo – Foundation Yves Rocher Award: Marco Zorzanello
Camille Lepage Award: Kasia Strek
Ani-PixPalace Award: Virginie Nguyen Hoang