Jimei Arles Intl Photo Festival kicks off in Xiamen

The 2017 Jimei Arles International Photo Festival kicked off on Nov 25 in East China's coastal city Xiamen.

Chinese photographer Rong Rong organized the event with Sam Stourdze, who is known for being behind the international photo festival Rencontres d'Arles in France.

The festival in Xiamen features several exhibitions showcasing the works of young photographers and curators from both China and other countries across the world.

Now in its third edition, Jimei Arles International Photo Festival displays images snapped by more than 250 artists from France, US, Indonesia, Iran, Spain, and of course, China.

A total of 40 exhibitions attest to the diversity of photographic approaches and practices.

Berenice Angremy, director of this year's festival, said that she knew naturally about the previous ones, and has joined the event every year. They decided to launch the third edition last April.

Aiming to strengthen the role of the festival regarding the platform for photography in Asia, a number of events will be held during the opening week including exhibitions, discussion panels, art performances and award ceremonies.

One of the awards is the Jimei Arles Discovery Award. Chinese photographer Feng Li took home this year's prize and shared his experience in creating images.

"I think the stories behind the photos are much more important than your skills at creating art. Because when people look at the photos, what interests them are the stories, rather than the pictures taken by whom or what kind of equipment. I expect the audience can have the same feeling just like when I took the pictures. To focus more on the stories. This is also my advice for the young talents."

There's also a special award for women standing behind the camera.

Sam Stourdze, director of famous international photo festival - Rencontres d'Arles held in France - said that they want to send a message that both men and women are equally good via this award.

"The audience can easily tell the names of 10 male artists but it will be hard for them to tell ten female artists. What we are doing right now is to give more chances for both female artists. We also hope they can express their will or ideas that art is equal to everybody through their work," she said.

With two main sites in Xiamen's Jimei district and several other sites in the city, the festival also helps to connect and animate separated cultural areas and spaces, to relay and promulgate different art forms through the city.