In 1970, when she was still a student at the San Francisco Art Institute, Annie Leibovitz began working as a staff photographer for Rolling Stone. It was here that she first made a name for herself and refined the skills that have made her one of the world’s most famous portrait photographers. It was also, famously, on an assignment for Rolling Stone that she photographed John Lennon on the afternoon of December 8th, 1980, just hours before he was assassinated. Now the years that she was working for the magazine have become the focus of an exhibition at Luma Arles as part of the yearly photography festival Rencontres d’Arles. Having recently acquired her entire archive, the Luma Foundation has organised “The Early Years, 1970–1983: Archive Project #1” as the first of a series of shows about Annie Leibovitz; this first instalment features over 5,000 images chosen and installed by the artist.

More information at: Rencontres d’Arles