The Guardian has published a picture gallery highlighting the best works on show at the 57th edition of the Rencontres d'Arles, the annual photography festival in Arles, France, which runs until 4 October 2026. This year's festival is organised around five themes — 'independence', 'journeys', 'forms of life', 'revisits' and 'uncertain archive' — and brings together historical and contemporary photography from around the world, with a notable focus on African photographers and post-colonial visual culture.

The featured exhibitions span a wide range of subjects. Under the 'independence' theme, shows explore post-independence African nations, including work documenting Ghana's 1957 independence and a first major French solo exhibition for Ivorian photographer Paul Kodjo, alongside a tribute to 96-year-old Ghanaian pioneer James Barnor, whose annual prize this year focuses on Southern Africa. Other highlights include 'Animal Model', which traces two centuries of animal photography through six thematic 'gazes'; 'We are not Alone', which examines UFO imagery and its role in fostering a 'culture of visual doubt'; and 'The Anonymous Project', which revisits North American family album photographs from the 1950s and 1960s.