Rencontres Photographiques du Trièves

Rencontres Photographiques du Trièves: Photography in Freedom

The Rencontres Photographiques du Trièves is an open-air summer photography festival that transforms the villages of Trièves into a vast open-air gallery each summer. Created in 2018 by the association Artistes Associés du Trièves, under the honorary presidency of photographer Emmanuel Breteau, this event was born from the desire to celebrate the photographic richness of this mountain territory located about 50 kilometers south of Grenoble, between the Vercors and Dévoluy massifs.

A Photographic Trail Through the Villages

From the end of June to the end of August, about thirty photographic exhibitions are set up in the streets, squares, municipal halls, and heritage sites of about ten Trièves communes: Clelles, Mens, Gresse-en-Vercors, Monestier-de-Clermont, Saint-Martin-de-la-Cluze, Saint-Maurice-en-Trièves, Treffort, and other villages. The photographers are selected by a jury for the quality and originality of their work. Portraits, landscapes, reports, wildlife photography, documentary series, or artistic creations: genres and approaches intersect to offer the public a rich and diverse panorama of contemporary photography.

Meetings, Screenings, and Events

Beyond the exhibitions, the Rencontres Photographiques du Trièves offers a program of varied events throughout the summer. Open-air screenings allow you to discover photographic works in privileged conditions. Meetings with photographers offer the public the opportunity to interact directly with the artists and understand their artistic approaches. Guided tours of the exhibitions are organized regularly, led by the photographers themselves or by cultural mediators. The festival also offers workshops and participatory events that invite young and old to discover photography.

A Territory of Inspiration

The Trièves, with its grandiose landscapes dominated by Mont Aiguille, its meadows, forests, and charming villages, provides an exceptional natural setting for a photography festival. The installation of exhibitions in public spaces—house facades, village squares, hiking trails—creates a unique dialogue between the images and the landscape, inviting visitors to an artistic and contemplative stroll through a preserved territory. Discovering the exhibitions is combined with discovering the local heritage, hiking trails, and gastronomy of the Trièves.

A Free Festival Run by Volunteers

Supported by a team of passionate volunteers, the Rencontres Photographiques du Trièves is entirely free and open access. The association Artistes Associés du Trièves, governed by the 1901 law and recognized as being of general interest, works throughout the year to select photographers, prepare exhibitions, and coordinate the entire event. Since the first edition in 2018, which brought together 17 photographers in about fifteen locations, the festival has continued to grow to become a major cultural event of the Isère summer, attracting an ever-increasing audience with each edition.