The ancient theater of Arles had not experienced such a shock for at least thirty years, according to the memories of regular spectators. On Tuesday, July 8, on the official opening night of the Rencontres de la photographie, American photographer Nan Goldin took to the stage to denounce the war in Gaza, in a speech of rare intensity, which mingled commitment, pain, and a call for collective responsibility.
While the audience, around 2,500 people, expected a simple presentation of her film Stendhal Syndrome, screened as part of her exhibition in Arles, and receive an award by Kehring. Nan Goldin then appeared on stage alongside the writer Édouard Louis. Behind them, images from Gaza scrolled silently: mainly videos posted on social media, broadcast by Palestinian civilians or journalists, showing their daily lives, albeit without horrors. Then the photographer spoke for several minutes: “What is happening in Gaza is the first genocide broadcast live. Every day, despite the censorship of journalists, the closure of social media accounts, and the impossibility of accessing the media, we can see what is happening. Do you doubt what you see? Do you think it’s exaggerated? Why do you always need more validation from the mainstream media to believe what is happening?”
In the thousand-year-old venue, where screenings and institutional speeches follow one another, this statement stands out. Especially since it takes place in the presence of a part of the international photography world, who came to attend the inauguration. The artist, one of the greatest living figures in contemporary photography, recalled the cultural world’s responsibility for the prevailing silence: “Our own milieu has betrayed us. The world of culture participates in the silence. Who would have imagined that it would become so difficult to express an opinion? Hundreds of artists, writers, teachers have seen their exhibitions, conferences, or shows canceled because they refused to remain silent.”
This isn’t Nan Goldin’s first active stance. A leading figure in the fight against opioids in the United States and founder of the PAIN (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now) collective, she has used her words as a weapon of protest. Goldin’s artistic aura and her career as a committed artist give her words even greater impact. She didn’t just denounce; she also proposed actions: “Stop buying from Starbucks or McDonald’s, or the products of other companies that support this war. Do your research. Give money directly to people. This war is also a war about money. Vote for those who want to change the situation. To be outraged without voting is to be complicit.”
She then addressed those who think they can’t do anything. The message becomes more intimate, even more incisive: “The experience of the world today is the experience of powerlessness. We are at home, in our beds, on our sofas, and we are watching a genocide live on our phones. And we think we can’t do anything. But that’s what those in power want us to believe.”
The intervention was not without tension. As Nan Goldin denounced “the first genocide broadcast live,” a spectator interrupted her, shouting from the stands: “And the hostages? You don’t say anything about the Israeli hostages!” The photographer paused, letting the insults of other spectators against the spectator pass, before responding, in a calm voice: “I don’t deny the pain and the 1,000-odd Israelis killed on October 7, but there are several tens of thousands on the Palestinian side. These people are murdered for their land. Israel’s culture is to victimize itself. They are reproducing on the Palestinians the same genocide they suffered at the hands of the Nazis.” A round of applause followed her response, drowning out the protests of the spectator, who debated with Nan Goldin, then left the amphitheater. A few people followed her, but the majority of the audience remained, visibly moved, some standing, others in tears. This moment of confrontation crystallized the emotional charge of the evening, confirming that art, when it engages, divides as much as it mobilizes.
The scene, relayed by the French newspapers, also made the rounds on social media. Some saw it as a shift in the field of art toward activism, others as a salutary threat to an overly comfortable cultural closed circle. In any case, in a few minutes, Nan Goldin restored the projected image to its rawest political charge, reconnecting with a tradition where photography becomes an act. And if the ancient theater resonated with an unusual voice that evening, it was perhaps precisely to remind us that some artists do more than just represent. Sometimes they proclaim. Sometimes they denounce. And sometimes they do so in a raw and forceful manner, in front of everyone.
Rencontres de la Photographie festival takes place in Arles, from July 7 to October 5, 2025.
Cover image: Nan Goldin on stage at the ancient theatre in Arles © Alice Pallot
