A world premiere exhibition of the late French photojournalist Catherine Leroy’s work will be on display at the Ballarat International Foto Biennale from 23 August to 19 October 2025.


Catherine Leroy training on the eve of jumping with the 173rd Airborne during Operation Junction City, 21 February 1967. Copyright Bob Cole. Copyright Courtesy Dotation Catherine Leroy

Titled Catherine Leroy: One-Way Ticket to Vietnam 1966-1968, the exhibition is being presented in partnership with the Dotation Catherine Leroy. Renowned for her fearless frontline coverage during the war in Vietnam, Leroy was one of the first female photographers to embed herself within combat, capturing raw, humanising images that challenged public perceptions of conflict. Her work has been featured in Life magazine, Look magazine, The New York Times, and Paris Match, and continues to influence generations of photojournalists. At just 21 years of age, and barely five feet tall, Catherine Leroy bought a one-way ticket and arrived in Saigon in February 1966 with a hundred dollars in her pocket and a Leica M2 camera.

In a field dominated by men, she broke barriers, becoming the first and only accredited female but also civilian journalist to parachute into combat in Vietnam and first woman to win the prestigious George Polk Award in Photography for her raw, emotional images of battle. Gravely wounded in action, captured by the People’s Army of Vietnam, and later documenting the Fall of Saigon at her own initiative, Leroy’s fearless storytelling reshaped war photography.

This retrospective exhibition, to be showcased in the historic Ballarat Town Hall, will present a curated selection of her most powerful images, offering an intimate look at the realities of war through the lens of a pioneering woman in photojournalism.

A significant new book featuring her images and private letters and writings will be launched during the Ballarat International Foto Biennale in October. Published in French and English editions by Atelier EXB / Éditions Xavier Barral, Paris. Click here for more information about the exhibition.