Indigenous Resistance and Heritage

Whether discreet, individual, or—on the contrary—coordinated by more or less radical projects to transform the world, acts of resistance no longer aim for a perfect, orderly world—one conceived ex nihilo in its social and material organization—but instead implement new ways of life in the shadow of political and financial powers, developing counter-hegemonic strategies to do so. The struggles for the climate, for women’s rights, for LGBTQIA+ rights, and for communities threatened by the destruction of their living environments are organizing, taking shape, and gaining visibility through resistance against the processes that threaten them.

Consequently, the role of contemporary creation—however essential it may be—is no longer to present a utopian vision of the future, but to act in the present to transform the world through resistance, the dissemination of imaginaries, and networked action. In social struggles, images in the broadest sense—photography and the visual arts, performances, stage productions, and film—play a part in the movement.

This year's seminar will be based on the Hauts-de-France Institut pour la photographie , whose 2022–23 research and creation program focuses on the theme “Images of Resistance.” The idea is to foster a dialogue between a researcher and an artist on topics related to the concept of resistance.

See you on Wednesday, November 2 with Lívia Melzi,   Sergio Valenzuela Escobedo and   Christine Barthe.

Lívia Melzi
Born in 1985 in Brazil, Lívia Melzi lives and works in Paris, São Paulo, and Zurich. Trained as an oceanographer, she holds a master’s degree in Photography and Contemporary Art from Paris VIII University and, in 2022, began the doctoral program in art and literature at the University of Zurich. In 2021 and 2022, she exhibited on numerous occasions in Paris, Nice, and Brasília. Lívia Melzi is the recipient of a research and creation grant from the Institut pour la photographie in Lille and is participating in the Fiminco 2022/2023 artist residency. From October 19 to November 27, 2022, she will present the exhibition Tupi or Not Tupi at the Palais de Tokyo.

Sergio Valenzuela Escobedo
Sergio Valenzuela Escobedo was born in 1983 in Santiago, Chile. He lives and works between Arles and London. An artist-researcher and publisher, he holds a Ph. D. In photography from the École Nationale Supérieure de Photographie (ÉNSP) in Arles. After spending a year at the National School of Art in Johannesburg (NSA), he earned his degree in photography in Chile and completed his master’s degree in fine arts at Villa Arson in Nice. He is the curator of the exhibitions Mapuche at the Musée de l’Homme in Paris and Monsanto: A Photographic Investigation and Ritual Inhabitual: Geometric Forests: Struggles in Mapuche Territory at the Rencontres d’Arles. He has served as a guest instructor at various schools and institutions, including Parsons Paris, the ISSP, and Atelier Noua. He is also a contributor to “1000words” and a co-founder of “doubledummy,” a platform for critical reflection on documentary photography.

Christine Barthe
As head of the Photographic Collections Department at the Musée du Quai Branly, Christine Barthe is responsible for acquisitions of historical and contemporary photography. She has curated several exhibitions, including, most recently, Dinh Q. Lê, The Thread of Memory and Other Photographs , Musée du Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac (2022), Yours is the gaze and (…) the infinite connection between things , Musée du Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac (2020). She is a member of the selection committee for the Photography Residencies at the Musée du Quai Branly , dedicated to contemporary photography. The author of numerous articles, she co-edited the book with Xavier Barral The Spirit of the Men of Tierra del Fuego (2015).