At LUMA Arles, the ninth edition of the Dior Photography and Visual Arts Award for Young Talents brings together ten emerging artists responding to this year’s theme, “Face-to-Face.” Created in 2018 by Christian Dior Parfums in partnership with LUMA Arles and the École nationale supérieure de la photographie (ENSP), the international award supports students and recent graduates from leading art and photography schools.

The 2026 jury was chaired by British photographer David Sims, alongside Vasantha Yogananthan, Maja Hoffmann, Vassilis Oikonomopoulos, Julie Jones and Peter Philips. Together, the selected artists explore encounters between individuals, images, bodies and the world around them, using photography, collage and installation.

This year’s winner, Japanese artist Akari Takenobu, is currently pursuing a master’s degree at Tokyo University of the Arts. Her winning series, Threshold, explores the boundary between the physical body and the invisible, a subject rooted in childhood experiences she describes as paranormal.

Takenobu begins with photographs of her own body, cutting and reassembling the images until the figure becomes fragmented and increasingly immaterial. The resulting works remain recognisably human while suggesting something beyond physical presence. “By moving between dematerialization and re-embodiment, I continue to measure my distance from the unknown.” the artist said.

For Takenobu, photography becomes a way to question what can and cannot be represented. Her work occupies the space between reality and the unknown, using the familiar form of the body to explore invisible presences, perception and identity.

The exhibition at LUMA Arles offers a snapshot of a new generation of image-makers, while Takenobu’s Threshold provides one of its most compelling explorations of the “Face-to-Face” theme: not simply an encounter with another person, but a confrontation with what lies beyond the visible. The last day to enjoy the show is today.

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