Giant portraits of forest guardians stare down from Paris’s city squares. Images of threatened landscapes line the riverbanks, while wooden yurts have been turned into pop-up pavilions. Photoclimat, a grassroots photo biennale, has transformed the French capital into an open-air gallery where photography and activism collide.
Now in its third edition, Photoclimat brings together 47 artists from around the world. Their installations trace the work of non-profit groups tackling climate change, protecting biodiversity and defending communities on the frontlines.
The Biennale was created in 2021 by French photographer Nicolas Henry, a member of Le tour d’un monde (A Journey Around a World), a cultural association that develops artistic projects with a social focus.
He says the idea is to use art as a bridge to the work of NGOs.
“The idea of this project is to combine the strength of artistic talent together with the stories of the work done by NGOs. We want to really wake people up – raise awareness,” he told RFI.
He hopes visitors will go further – learning more about the organisations, volunteering or donating.
“But it’s also all about giving meaning to what we do, bringing joy and a good mood that can transform people’s lives. It gives us a sense of direction and a sense of community,” he says.
A powerful tool
Henry believes photography can open the door to difficult issues, especially for younger audiences. And photographry is a powerful tool to begin a discussion.
“It’s a way to introduce these NGOs to the younger generation who may not have heard of them – encouraging them to become ‘actors of society’ when it comes to ecology and social progress,” he says.
One of the headline works sits at Place de la Concorde. It is “Les Voix des Fôrets” (Voices of the Forest), a series by young Filipino photographer Gab Mejia. His black-and-white portraits are displayed on a circular wooden pavilion that doubles as a meeting space for artists.
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Mejia worked with Laure d’Astorg from the French NGO Alliance pour la Préservation des Fôrets (Alliance for Forest Preservation) to find a way to celebrate the people behind the mammoth task of saving the world’s endangered forests.
“I wanted the work to share their messages and to transmit a call to action of what we can do to preserve the forests all across the world,” Mejia told RFI.
He says the Philippines, one of the world’s most biodiverse countries, has vast primary forests under threat. “It’s part of our identity; we have indigenous communities and local communities who really rely on the forest in the Philippines and the islands.”
Among his subjects was Hernando Chindoy, a Colombian leader working with the Alliance to fight deforestation. Mejia combined photography with digitally rendered sketches to portray the activists.
For d’Astorg, there’s the public message battle, and then there’s the legal one behind the scenes.
Her organisation strives to make sure raw materials derived from the forests, like wood, coffee, cacao are sustainably sourced.
“Forests are in danger, forests in Europe, but also in Amazonia and Basin of Congo and Southeast Asia," she says.
"The planet is burning and we really need to bring this message and this fight can only be won together with the businesses and the NGOs. We really need to work together to stop deforestation.”
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Elsewhere at Photoclimat, visitors can see British photographer Tim Flach’s portraits of animals, the bold colours of Ghanaian artist Prince Gyasi and the abstract work of Dutch photographer Sanja Marusic.
On the banks of the Seine, other installations focus on oceans and rivers, underscoring the efforts of people and organisations working to protect them.
For Nicolas Henry, Photoclimat is just the beginning of a conversation: a wake-up call he hopes will transform awareness into meaningful action.
Photoclimat runs until 12 October – spanning 6 locations in central Paris and several locations in the Paris suburbs.
