BarrObjectif
International outdoor photojournalism festival in Barro, Charente
2026
About BarrObjectif
Since 1999, the BarrPhoto association has transformed the village of Barro in Charente into an open-air gallery. Every year, around 600 reportage photographs are displayed across forty locations, adorning building facades, village streets, the banks of the Charente river, and the central square. Each year, a jury of professionals selects twenty photographers, joined by tribute exhibitions and winners of international photojournalism awards.
Admission is free, and the festival attracts over 8,000 visitors during its nine-day run.
BarrObjectif — edition 2026
For its 25th edition, running from September 12 to 20, 2026, BarrObjectif welcomes Franco-Russian photojournalist Natalya Saprunova as the guest of honor, alongside some twenty reporters selected by the jury. A special exhibition curated by Pascal Peyrot will also mark the bicentenary of photography.
The 2026 lineup features reports from a wide range of settings: the Donbas under Russian offensive, Gaza, a Mundari camp in South Sudan, the Ascoval blast furnaces in Northern France, the Thar Desert in India, and space debris in orbit. The previous edition's Audience Award goes to Vincent Boisot for "Les Étoiles de Lagos," and this year's collective exhibition is being developed in partnership with the Festival de Confolens, the nearby Charente-based world music and dance festival.
Highlights BarrObjectif 2026
- Natalya Saprunova, Franco-Russian photojournalist, guest of honor for the 25th edition
- Bicentenary of photography exhibition by Pascal Peyrot
- Twenty reports selected by a professional jury, covering everything from the Donbas and Gaza to industrial Northern France
- Collective exhibition in partnership with the Festival de Confolens
- Works by the winners of the Camille Lepage Award and the RSF Lucas Dolega Award
Programme BarrObjectif 2026
Guest of Honor
- Natalya Saprunova — Franco-Russian photojournalist, focusing on identity, environment, and climate change
Main Selection (20 photographers)
- Véronique Abour — "Amazighes: Free Women"
- Victorine Alisse — "We Will Stay Here As Long As There Is Thyme and Olives"
- Abdelrahman Alkahlout — "Silent Testimonies from Gaza"
- Élodie Arroyo — "Hey, Miss!"
- Roland Bacon — "The Mud Men"
- Fiorella Baldisserri — "Drifting Shadows: Space Debris"
- Laurent Blandin — "Madagascar, of Bricks and Sweat"
- Xavier Bourdereau — "Nurses Serving the Portingalais"
- Laurent Demartini — "Do Something For Nothing"
- Vincent Enot — "The Attention of the Gesture"
- Antoni Lallican — "The Russian Offensive in the Donbas"
- Jules Lanzaro — "Eaux-Chaudes"
- Jacky Lecanu — "Four Paws to Get Back Up"
- Dorothée Machabert — "The Summer Will Be Hot"
- Laurent Ouisse — "The Thar Desert"
- Guillaume Petermann — "The Mohana, A People Adrift"
- Pierre Rouanet — "Ascoval, The Long Fight of the Men of Steel"
- Béatrice Royer — "Silent Tenderness in the Mundari Camp"
- Samuel Saada — "I / You / We"
- Bénédite Topuz — "Ally"
Exhibitions and Awards
- Coup de Pouce — Pascal Dulac, "Celestial Ballets"
- Jury's Choice — Justine Darmon, "Silent Gazes"
- Tribute — Matthieu Chazal
- Collective exhibition with the Festival de Confolens
- 2025 Audience Award — Vincent Boisot, "Les Étoiles de Lagos"
- Camille Lepage Award — Matilde Gattoni
- RSF Lucas Dolega Award — Robin Tutenges
- Bicentenary of Photography — Pascal Peyrot
The full list of exhibitions is available on the festival's official website.
Practical information — BarrObjectif
The exhibitions are set up outdoors throughout the village of Barro, centered around the Rue de l'If and the village square, as well as along the banks of the Charente. Access to the exhibitions is free, and visitors can explore the collection on foot by following a path through the village streets.
A festival born in a Charente village
BarrObjectif began in 1999 with a group of photography enthusiasts united by a simple idea: to take photojournalism out of traditional gallery spaces and into the streets of a village. Since then, Barro (16700), located in the north of the department, has served as the backdrop. Every September, the village's houses, trees, riverbanks, and central square—marked by an ancient yew tree—become the festival's exhibition walls.
Jury selection and international awards
Each edition features around twenty photojournalists selected through an open call by a jury of professionals. The program is complemented by a "boost" exhibition for an emerging photographer, a jury's "favorite" exhibition, a tribute exhibition, a collective exhibition held in partnership with the Festival de Confolens, and the works of winners from the previous year's public prize, the Camille Lepage prize, and the RSF Lucas Dolega prize, which honors photojournalists working in conflict zones or covering critical social issues.
Where does it take place — BarrObjectif
BarrObjectif in brief
Other festivals near Barro
Festival-goer reviews
No review yet. Be the first!
No rating yet — be the first!
Were you there?
Share your experience with the community
Have you spotted an error or missing information?
Help us keep this listing up to date. Every suggestion is reviewed by our team before publication.
Festival-goer photos
No photo yet. Share yours!
5 photos max, 5 MB per photo (JPG, PNG, WebP)
A quick word
Find us more easily on Google
Add Festivals en France to your preferred sources: our line-ups and calendars will show up more often in your Google results. It’s free, it takes two seconds, and you can undo it whenever you want.
Add us to my sourcesYou stay on this page: Google opens a window, then brings you back here.