Must-see exhibitions at LUMA Arles 2025/26
An exciting season of exhibitions has recently launched at LUMA Arles, the leading contemporary arts centre in Arles, France, created by the LUMA Foundation. Foundation President Maja Hoffmann commented on the new exhibitions: “more diverse and exciting than ever, our program encourages audiences to see the world through new lenses.”
The sprawling museum site also has an abundance of permanent installations and dazzling architecture to enjoy alongside its many temporary shows. Here is our pick of unmissable highlights:
Ho Tzu Nyen: Phantom Day and Stranger Tales
Phantom Day and Stranger Tales, Ho Tzu Nyen. LUMA Arles. Image credit MTotoe.
Curated by Vassilis Oikonomopoulos and Tom Eccles, this solo exhibition of Ho Tzu Nyen (b.1976, Singapore) features five multimedia installations spanning more than a decade of the artist’s practice. A renowned filmmaker, Ho incorporates found footage, animation, algorithmic editing systems and AI processes to explore wide-ranging subjects rooted in the cultures of Southeast Asia.
The enthralling worlds which Ho creates plunge viewers into a multiplicity of stories and timelines, encouraging us to question traditional concepts of time and perception. The most recent video installation, Phantoms of Endless Day, was commissioned for this exhibition at LUMA Arles and draws on an unfinished project (Endless Day) from 2011 which continues to inspire his ongoing practice.
This exhibition takes place at an important moment for the artist, as a major mid-career survey of the artist’s work, “Time & the Tiger”, has been touring international museums from New York to Luxembourg since 2023. Tigers are a recurring theme for Ho; in the Malay world, they are seen as liminal beings who can cross between human and animal worlds, and may function as mediums for ancestral spirits. Simultaneously, they have played a role in colonial histories—widely hunted by the British and acquiring additional symbolic, even disruptive significance.
Date: 5 July 2025 - 11 January 2026. Location: La Mécanique Générale. luma.org
Wael Shawky: I am Hymns of the New Temples
Wael Shawky, I Am Hymns of the New Temples, 2025, La Grande Halle, LUMA Arles, France. Victor & Simon / Victor Picon
For this major site-specific exhibition, Egyptian contemporary artist Wael Shawky (b.1971) has taken over the entire Grande Halle: a C19th ironworks factory converted into one of LUMA’s main exhibition venues by Moatti-Rivière Architects.
In his practice, Shawky is known for teasing the boundaries between history, myth and contemporary narratives. In this exhibition, he takes this to new heights—conceptually and literally. A towering acid-pink mountain representing Mount Vesuvius looms over visitors, who then proceed through an array of mixed media installations which take the site of ancient Pompeii as a point of departure and inspiration. These homages to the ancient world and its heritage become a framework for experimentation and creation for Shawky, whose playful sculptures, paintings and drawings collectively emphasise how mutable both culture and identity are. The exhibition culminates with a large-scale video installation reimagining the story of Gaia, the primordial goddess of Earth, tracing her wandering encounters with gods, monuments and myths.
Shawky is certainly an artist and cultural leader to watch. Since 2024, he has been the Artistic Director of the Doha Fire Station and recently he was appointed Artistic Director for the inaugural edition of Art Basel Qatar in 2026.
Date: 5 July 2025 - 2 November 2025. Location: La Grande Halle. luma.org
David Armstrong
David Armstrong, 2025, The Tower, Underground Level -3, LUMA Arles, France. Courtesy of the Estate of David Armstrong. © Victor & Simon / Grégoire d'Ablon
This solo exhibition of American photographer David Armstrong (1954-2014) brings together portraits and lesser-known landscapes in a poignant retrospective that demonstrates his unique vision and impact on contemporary photography. The origins of this presentation can be traced back to the 2009 edition of the annual festival Les Rencontres de la photographie d’Arles, in which his work was introduced to the city by guest artistic director and legendary artist Nan Goldin.
Armstrong’s haunting portraits capture the essence of the rebellious, creative scene in New York in the 1970s and 80s. His subjects are simultaneously coy and confronting, often staring directly and seductively into the photographer’s lens. From unknown people to well-known figures within New York counterculture, a shared sense of resistance and intimacy runs through each portrait. A particular highlight are the many contact sheets displayed in cases, allowing visitors a deeper insight into some of the shoots behind the portraits on the walls.
Date: 5 July 2025 – Spring 2026. Location: The Tower, Underground, Level -3. luma.org
Carsten Höller’s Isometric Slides. Luma Arles. Image credit MTotoe.
Don’t forget to explore through the vast outdoor sculpture garden, and no visit to LUMA is complete without trying Carsten Höller’s Isometric Slides—two downward-spiralling tubes in which visitors can slide down multiple floors from the top of the museum’s Tower building.
Location: LUMA Arles, Parc des Ateliers, 35 avenue Victor Hugo, 13200 Arles. Website: luma.org. Instagram: @luma_arles
Words by Sofia Carreira Wham
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