The British photographers we are honouring this summer have this singular style.
They're so British because they know how to cleverly capture a soul: the soul of
an era, the soul of a country, the human soul. At La Gacilly, we've always wanted
to honour the great masters of photography, and Sir Don McCullin, knighted by
Queen Elizabeth II, is a legend. Throughout his career, he has placed his lens as close
as possible to individuals, to their valour and their fears, their thoughtlessness
and beliefs. He didn't photograph the misery of the excluded, he denounced it; he
didn't photograph war, he decried its absurdity; he didn't photograph the English
countryside or ancient landscapes, he showed their fragility. This retrospective
of his work stirs our minds, while leaving intact our capacity to take on a new
consciousness.
If mischievousness remains the prerogative of the British, Martin Parr is its
photographic standard-bearer. For over fifty years, this indefatigable chronicler
of English society has cast an implacable, razor-sharp eye over his compatriots,
from both modest and more affluent backgrounds. His work is accentuated by
a perfectly mastered art of framing (and close-ups), a liking for bright colours,
and a skilful use of flash lighting, thanks to which he has freed himself from all
stuffy academicism. Where did he find his inspiration? Parr admits that he feels
great admiration for an artist who is sadly forgotten today, a genius of the art of
mockery who died too soon at the age of 31 in the early 1970s : Tony Ray-Jones.
At La Gacilly, we'll be introducing you to this ironic observer of the mores of his
time, who gave humour its rightful place without ever lapsing into needless cruelty.
These two forerunners of unbridled, light-hearted photography have seen their
work emulated. Peter Dench likes to examine the contradictions of a society
that we believe to be deeply attached to tradition. Crown subjects flock to all the
ceremonies laid on for their sovereigns, but find themselves overwhelmed by
emotion, in a skilful blend of trashiness and class, absurdity and seriousness,
pragmaticism and eccentricity. As for Josh Edgoose, who is very active on social
media, he roams the streets of London in search of the unexpected, favouring vibrant colours, incongruous details and moments of joy and spontaneity.
Each of his images is the result of a happy coincidence, and this is the first
time his work has been shown in France. « Swinging London » - a permanently
effervescent capital - reminds us that a whole genre of untamed pop music was
born on the banks of the Thames or in the suburbs of Liverpool and then swept
across the world. Terry O'Neill witnessed this sizzling, exhilarating revolution.
Crucially, he was the photographic confidant of England's enfants terribles, from
the Beatles to the Rolling Stones and David Bowie to Elton John, bringing all the
artists involved in this new scene before his lens. His images are now iconic, and
take us back to a world not so long past.
But British photography can also be proud of the fact that, from its very
beginnings, it has set its sights on the wonders of nature. Did you know that
the United Kingdom and France share the privilege of being the inventors of the
medium ? Although Nicéphore Niepce, from Chalon-sur-Saône, was the first to set an
image on a metal plate, it was an English botanist who was the first to develop this
technique all the way back in 1843. Anna Atkins was a pioneer in this field, and at
La Gacilly we'll be presenting some of her cyanotypes, used to create herbariums
of spellbinding beauty, which are astonishingly modern when you consider that
many contemporary artists are once again using this almost 200-year-old process.
A new generation is fiercely defending this heritage that pays homage to nature.
Three women will be featured in our programme. Gina Soden has made abandoned places her kingdom to offer us works of rare poetry, exploring manor
houses and old mansions that their owners have left behind, disused factories and
dilapidated hospitals where nature reclaims its rights. Cig Harvey experiments
with colours, our sensory experiences and bodies that blend into nature so that she
can awaken our senses and stir our need for delicacy. Finally, Mary Turner takes a
tender look at the marginalised populations of post-industrial England, with an eye
reminiscent of Ken Loach's films which places human beings at the heart of all
her shots.
La Gacilly Photo Festival
expand_circle_rightAll Photography Festivals
20/20 Photo Festival 2026
Sep 10, 2026 – Sep 19, 2026
20/20 Photo Festival
Philadelphia, PA, United States
9th Triennial of Photography Hamburg 2026
Jun 05, 2026 – Sep 22, 2026
Triennial of Photography Hamburg
Hamburg, Germany
Filter Photo Festival 2026
Sep 23, 2026 – Sep 26, 2026
Columbia College Chicago Student Center
Chicago, IL, United States
Copenhagen International Photography Festival 2027
Nov 15, 2026 – Nov 21, 2026
Multi-Venue Copenhagen
Copenhagen, Denmark
Barcelona International Photography Festival on Human Rights and Global Justice
Dec 01, 2026 – Jan 10, 2027
Streets of Barcelona
Barcelona, Spain
Higashikawa International Photo Festival 2026
Aug 01, 2026 – Aug 31, 2026
Higashikawa
Higashikawa, Japan
London Street Photography Festival 2026
Aug 28, 2026 – Aug 30, 2026
East London
London, United Kingdom
Whitney Biennial 2026
Mar 08, 2026 – Aug 23, 2026
Whitney Museum of American Art
New York, NY, United States
APhF - Athens Photo Festival 2026
Jun 10, 2026 – Jul 26, 2026
Benaki Museum / Pireos 138
Athens, Greece
The Latin American Foto Festival 2026
Jul 09, 2026 – Jul 26, 2026
New York
New York, NY, United States
Sarajevo Photography Festival 2026
Jun 01, 2026 – Jun 30, 2026
Sarajevo
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Belfast Photo Festival 2026
Jun 04, 2026 – Jun 30, 2026
Belfast Photo Festival
Belfast, United Kingdom
Glasgow International 2026
Jun 05, 2026 – Jun 21, 2026
Glasgow International (office)
Glasgow, United Kingdom
Contact Photography Festival 2026
May 01, 2026 – May 31, 2026
CONTACT Photography Festival
Toronto, Canada
Nordic Light International Festival Of Photography
May 15, 2026 – May 25, 2026
Nordic Light Events
Kristiansund, Norway
Photobook Fest 2026
May 08, 2026 – May 10, 2026
ICP - International Center of Photography
New York, NY, United States
Dublin Street Photography Festival 2026
May 01, 2026 – May 03, 2026
Charlemont Square
Dublin, Ireland
Thailand Biennale Phuket 2025: Eternal Kalpa
Nov 01, 2025 – Apr 30, 2026
Thailand Biennale
Phuket, Thailand
Barnsley’s Inaugural Photography Festival: FOTO 2026
Feb 21, 2026 – Mar 31, 2026
Barnsley Civic
, United Kingdom
Singapore Biennale 2025: pure intention
Oct 31, 2025 – Mar 29, 2026
Singapore Biennale
Singapore, Singapore
Women by Women: PhotoVogue Festival 2026
Mar 01, 2026 – Mar 06, 2026
Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense
Milan, Italy
Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2025
Dec 12, 2025 – Mar 03, 2026
Kochi Biennale Foundation
Mattancherry, Kochi, Kerala, India
Exposure Photography Festival 2026
Feb 05, 2026 – Mar 01, 2026
Exposure Photography Festival
Calgary, Canada
Yebisu International Festival for Art & Alternative Visions 2026
Feb 06, 2026 – Feb 23, 2026
Top Museum
Tokyo, Japan
2025/2026 Chaumont-Photo-sur-Loire
Nov 23, 2025 – Feb 22, 2026
Domain of Chaumont-sur-Loire
Chaumont-sur-Loire, France
2025 Jimei × Arles International Photo Festival
Nov 29, 2025 – Jan 04, 2026
Three Shadows
Xiamen, China
PhotoNOLA 2025
Dec 10, 2025 – Dec 14, 2025
Ogden Museum’s Taylor Library
New Orleans, LA, United States
RomePhotoLab - International Street Photo Festival
Sep 26, 2025 – Sep 28, 2025
Villa Altieri
Rome, Italy
expand_circle_rightPhotography Events Ending Soon
Sabiha Çimen and Mary Ellen Mark: The Girls
Apr 02, 2026 – Sep 12, 2026
Howard Greenberg Gallery
New York, NY, United States
SUPERFLEX: Rainbows, Sponges, Flies, and Spoons
Jun 12, 2026 – Sep 12, 2026
MAK Center for Art and Architecture
West Hollywood, CA, United States
Notes from the Margins: Allen Ginsberg and Vivian Maier
Jun 04, 2026 – Sep 12, 2026
Howard Greenberg Gallery
New York, NY, United States
A Terrible Beauty: Photographers Amid Chaos
Jul 11, 2026 – Sep 12, 2026
Museum of Fine Arts St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg, FL, United States
Expand and Contract: Notes about American Documentary Photography in the 21st Century
Jul 25, 2026 – Sep 12, 2026
LACP - Los Angeles Center of Photography
Los Angeles, CA, United States
Blessings from the Three: Tortilleras, Jotos, and Potaxies
Aug 01, 2026 – Sep 12, 2026
The Luckman Gallery
Los Angeles, CA, United States
Second Nature at Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
May 21, 2026 – Sep 12, 2026
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
Kansas City, MO, United States
Todd Hido, Many Small Decisions
Aug 01, 2026 – Sep 13, 2026
CFPA - Center for Photographic Art
Carmel, CA, United States
Lynn Goldsmith: Shared Light
Jun 20, 2026 – Sep 13, 2026
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens
Sarasota, FL, United States
Lake Verea: Dark Rooms and Other Games
May 09, 2026 – Sep 13, 2026
Palm Springs Art Museum
Palm Springs, CA, United States
Andrea Hernández Briceño: Fire Becomes Spirit
Jun 24, 2026 – Sep 13, 2026
ICP - International Center of Photography
New York, NY, United States
David Uzochukwu: Bodies of Water
Jun 10, 2026 – Sep 15, 2026
Memphis Brooks Museum Of Art
Memphis, TN, United States



