The frames are down, the records packed away, the Hall is quiet again. From 31 July to 2 August, the Argia collective held its very first big summer event at the Gaztelu Market Hall in Hendaye: Crossed Perspectives #1, Sound and Vision, three days where photography met music. Around 250 people came to share it with us. A look back.
It all began on Friday afternoon, then, off-site, as an opening, Les Variétés cinema screened Moonage Daydream, the film about David Bowie, introduced by and followed by a discussion with Diego Gil. A way of saying from the start what the weekend would be: a dialogue between image and sound.
On Saturday, it was the exhibition's turn. Diego Gil's afternoon talk on the record sleeve paved the way for the opening reception, followed by drinks. On Sunday, Simon Arcache gave his talk-performance « A History of the Blues », guitar in hand, before the record dealer Vintage Vinyl took to the decks. And all weekend, between events, the exhibition was open to all, with the vinyl atmosphere and a set by DJ Ana Del Amor.
A few days before the opening, Diego Gil and Arnaud Elissalde were on Wave Radio to present Sound and Vision and talk, for about thirty minutes, about this dialogue between photography and music. A lovely foretaste, worth listening to again now the exhibition has closed.
Above the visitors, hanging in circles along the walkways, 36 sleeves selected by Diego, in a scenography designed by Olivier Robert, artistic director of the Argia Collective. His idea: the record sleeve is already photography, the first image we receive of a piece of music, before we even hear it. From Elvis to Bowie, his talk told that story and reminded us that in the age of streaming, returning to the large format of vinyl gives the image back all its power.
On stage, the series Going Up, Going Down. Voyage dans l'intimité du Blues. Simon Arcache, photographer and musician, winner of the Voltaire Photography Prize, brings together portraits made over several stays in the American South, alongside blues musicians. Film prints developed by his own hand, where every face carries an encounter. His musical performance on Sunday naturally extended the images through sound. Simon Arcache's exhibition was produced as part of the 2024 Voltaire Photography Prize, by the Confrontations Photos festival, in partnership with the Centre des Monuments Nationaux and the Gex local branch of Crédit Agricole Centre-Est.
Our collective was born of enthusiasts brought together by a shared conviction: that our border region, at the foot of the Three Crowns massif, deserves a major event devoted to photography and the image. We wanted to create something that didn't yet exist here, a place for photographic encounters, for exchange between artists and the public, between heritage and contemporary creation.
The Crossed Perspectives series, whose first edition took place this weekend in Hendaye at the Gaztelu Market Hall, is the very first stone.
Our ambition is clear: we are building the Three Crowns Photography Festival. A festival rooted in our region and open to the world. What we offered this weekend is a foretaste of what we want to bring to life right here. We hope this first page of a story we have written with you will become a must-attend photography event.
On behalf of the Argia collective and all its members, I want to thank you for your trust and for making this first event a success. We are delighted to have met such a varied, cross-border audience.
We are grateful for the warm welcome from the whole team of the culture department of the town of Hendaye and the staff of the Gaztelu Market Hall who, by making this exceptional venue available to us, made this project possible with quality scenographies true to the spirit of the collective.
For our first programme, we were keen to offer a dialogue between sound and image, made possible by our contributors: photographer Simon ARCACHE, who has documented the lives of bluesmen in the United States, with portraits full of humanity and a captivating story that makes you want to travel; Diego Gil, from Hendaye and a music historian, who took us back in time to discover or rediscover iconic albums; and our two music contributors who accompanied the exhibitions with music. The dialogue between these two worlds was also made possible by a discussion and screening at Les Variétés cinema, opening Crossed Perspectives #1, around Brett Morgen's documentary on David BOWIE, « Moonage Daydream ». I want to thank each of them for their commitment, as well as the staff of Les Variétés cinema for organising the opening night. Through the quality of their contributions, they helped write a wonderful first page.
None of this would have been possible without valuable support. I warmly thank the Town of Hendaye, and especially Ms MOUNIOS ADURRIAGA, deputy mayor for culture, for her visit and encouragement. I also thank the Pyrénées-Atlantiques Department, whose financial support made this project possible. Finally, thank you to the Lanetik association for lending equipment, and to our partners who support us so generously, the digital printing lab LABO 23 and the Akerbeltz brewery.
Having just closed the doors on our first event, « Crossed Perspectives #1 - Sound and Vision », we are preparing what comes next with great enthusiasm.
From September, join us for Crossed Perspectives #2, Telling the World, our second event, this time co-organised with the Mendi Zolan cultural venue, whom I thank for this partnership. This part will be devoted to photojournalism and humanist photography: the photographer's role in the face of History, the ethics of the image, the way photography tells the story of the world. It will be part of the national celebrations of the Bicentenary of Photography. The exhibition will be held at Mendi Zolan from 16 September to 10 October, bringing together four photographers, with as its highlight a retrospective in pictures of our patron Marc Paygnard, sixty years of photojournalism. It will close with a screening and discussion at Les Variétés cinema of Raymond DEPARDON's documentary « Reporters ».
To build the Three Crowns Photography Festival to match our ambitions, we will need support, both public and private: partners, sponsors, everyone who believes, like us, in the power of the image and the cultural vitality of our region. Every helping hand counts, and we will welcome them gratefully.
Finally, let me thank the whole Argia collective team and the volunteers who were there this weekend, who brought the collective's ideas to life and without whom none of this would have been possible.
Looking forward to seeing you again,
Arnaud Elissalde, president of the Argia collective
Sound and Vision was only the first Crossed Perspectives of the year. The next one is coming soon: Crossed Perspectives #2, Telling the World, from 16 September to 10 October at Mendi Zolan, with photojournalist Marc Paygnard as patron. More news very soon.
Every exhibition, every screening, every encounter relies on the energy of volunteers and on your support. By making a donation, you help us create more events like this one and prepare our big Three Crowns Festival in 2027.
Argia is recognised as a public-interest organisation: your donation entitles you to a 66% tax reduction (in France), with a tax receipt.
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