FEMALE GAZE: Kering has named Nan Goldin the winner of its 2025 Women in Motion Award for photography, in recognition of her intimate and raw portraits that highlight issues like domestic violence, sexuality and life on the fringes of society.
She is due to receive the prize on July 8 during the photography festival Les Rencontres d’Arles, which will host an exhibition of her work. Goldin will also give a talk during the ceremony at the Théâtre Antique in Arles.
“Through her work, Nan Goldin has recast the representation of women outside of patriarchal norms, but also on overlooked communities,” the French luxury group said in a statement Thursday. “By denouncing oppression and celebrating emancipation, Nan Goldin shows her unwavering commitment.”
Supported by the Women in Motion program, her exhibition titled “Stendhal Syndrom” will take the form of a slideshow juxtaposing images of classical, Renaissance and Baroque masterpieces with portraits of Goldin’s friends and lovers.
Initially aimed at highlighting work by women in the realm of film, Women in Motion was founded in 2015 at the Cannes Film Festival. Kering expanded the program by adding the photography award in 2019.
Previous recipients of the prize, which includes funding for the purchase of works for the Rencontres d’Arles Collection, have been Susan Meiselas, Sabine Weiss, Liz Johnson Artur, Babette Mangolte, Rosângela Rennó and Ishiuchi Miyako.
“I’m proud to be associated with such great women photographers who I admire and respect,” Goldin said. “I have a long history with Arles, particularly in the 1980s, which had a profound effect on me and my work early in my career. I’ve returned to Arles several times since then and I’m thrilled to be back.”
Goldin is best known for her work “The Ballad of Sexual Dependency,” produced from 1980 to 1986. Her current retrospective “This Will Not End Well” will travel to the Pirelli Hangar Bicocca in Milan this fall and conclude at the Grand Palais in Paris in 2026.
Her recent campaign for Gucci, Kering’s flagship fashion brand, scooped up a special recognition at Britain’s Fashion Awards.
