Spanning the course of a decade, Immersion was an annual photography programme that featured residencies, exhibitions and publications. Each year, Immersion alternated between photographers based in France, who were mentored by a French professional as they created a new photographic work in the United States, or photographers based in the US, who were mentored by an American professional as they created a new photographic work in France. Through this original photographic commission, the Foundation enabled artists to pursue significant new projects that articulated their visions of the geographical and cultural territory they explored during their residencies.
Immersion began as a three-year partnership with the Aperture Foundation, providing the artist-laureates with the opportunity to exhibit their work at the Aperture Gallery, New York. From 2018, Immersion was organised through a partnership with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) in the United States and the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson in Paris. Finally, from 2021 to 2024, the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York took over as the new American partner institution of Immersion, with the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson renewing its support in France.
The laureates of the six editions of the programme were, in chronological order: Sylvain Couzinet-Jacques, Alessandra Sanguinetti, Taysir Batniji, Gregory Halpern, Vasantha Yogananthan and Raymond Meeks. Each of them had the chance to present their work in the United States thanks to an exhibition at one of the partner institutions of the Foundation. The laureates of last three years also showed their work at solo exhibitions in Paris at the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson. Each of the six projects was presented in a dedicated edition co-published by the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès.
In 2024, the Fondation d'entreprise Hermès announced the launch of Latitudes, its new programme to support contemporary international photography. Taking over from Immersion, this programme focuses on photographers from geographical areas that are underrepresented on the international scene.
