The Catalan Eden: the new Provence of the Pyrénées-Orientales

History

Created in 1989 by Jean-François Leroy, Visa pour l’Image has, in just a few decades, become the world’s leading international festival dedicated to photojournalism. Born from the desire to shine a light on the work of photojournalists – often overlooked or underestimated – the festival has established itself as a space of freedom, testimony, and discussion around major global news topics: conflicts, humanitarian crises, environment, society. Every year, it attracts photographers, editors, journalists, NGOs, and a large general audience to Perpignan, with nearly 300,000 visitors.

Location and iconic venues

Each year the festival takes over some of Perpignan’s most remarkable heritage sites, offering a route through the city and its history:

• • Couvent des Minimes – the heart of the festival, hosting around fifteen exhibitions
  • Campo Santo – open-air evening screenings
  • Église des Dominicains
  • Palais des Corts
  • Hôtel Pams
  • Palais des Congrès
  • Caserne Gallieni
  • Ancienne Université
  • Théâtre de l’Archipel
  • Atelier d’Urbanisme
  • La Poudrière
  • Casa Xanxo – these venues, often closed to the public the rest of the year, become, during the festival, showcases for some of the world’s most powerful photo reports.

Dates and format

The 36th edition takes place from 31 August to 15 September 2024 (the 37th is already announced from 30 August to 14 September 2025).

• • Exhibitions: every day from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., free entry throughout the city.
  • Evening screenings: from 2 to 7 September 2024 at 9:30 p.m. at Campo Santo, with a retrospective of the past year and the awards ceremony.
  • School week: from 16 to 27 September, free admission for school groups by appointment.

Key features and spirit of the festival

Visa pour l’Image has become a leading forum for reflection and debate on world news, press freedom, and the power of images. The festival rewards the best reports each year with the prestigious Visa d’Or in various categories:

• • Visa d’Or News
  • Visa d’Or Magazine
  • Visa d’Or for the Daily Press
  • Visa d’Or Humanitarian
  • Visa d’Or of the City of Perpignan Rémi Ochlik
  • Visa d’Or of Honour
  • Visa d’Or for Digital News – franceinfo (9th edition in 2024, rewarding innovation in news storytelling)

Other prizes and grants — Camille Lepage, Pierre & Alexandra Boulat, Fondation Yves Rocher, Carmignac Photojournalism Award — support creativity and help emerging talents.

Exhibitions and recent highlights

Each edition offers over 20 free exhibitions, showcasing some of the finest photojournalistic stories of the year, selected from hundreds of submissions worldwide. Themes include armed conflicts, health crises, environment, social movements, struggles for human rights, but also hope and positive initiatives.

Examples of standout exhibitions

• • In 2024, the report “Sahara, la soif de l’or” by Amaury Hauchard and Michele Cattani (Les Jours) received the Visa d’Or for Digital News – franceinfo for its investigation into the gold rush in the Sahara.
  • Exhibitions on the war in Ukraine, the Covid-19 pandemic, global social movements and the climate crisis have marked recent editions, attracting large audiences and sparking intense debate and emotion.

A festival open to everyone

Entry is free for all exhibitions and screenings, and many of them are also available as virtual tours on the official website. Visa pour l’Image remains true to its mission: defending press freedom, supporting photojournalists and raising public awareness of the complexity of today’s world.

Conclusion

Visa pour l’Image in Perpignan is, every year, a unique opportunity to dive into world events through the eyes of leading photographers, in a city transformed into the international capital of photojournalism.