Long Live Photobook Mania

The 1st edition of PhMuseum's event dedicated to photography publishing brought together more than 2,000 people celebrating printed matter at Serra Madre in Bologna, Italy.

A bright location in the green, a diverse ensemble of international publishers and artists, a curious public, and a passionate team of collaborators and volunteers made this inaugural PhMuseum's Photobook Mania memorable.

The two days at Serra Madre were a testament to the aggregative power of publishing. This strengthened our belief in photobooks as tools for diffusion and conversation-starters, and sustained a passion for publishing that is unafraid of experimentation, that crosses inter-disciplinary boundaries, and is attentively curating both content and form. Mostly, it confirmed the need for informal spaces where the medium can be discussed and made accessible to all.

“Wonderful weekend in a paradise garden, nice encounters at the book fair, and beautiful book exhibitions and presentations. Extraordinary organisation, a new point of reference.” – Départ Pour L’image

“The first edition of Photobook Mania was a wonderful experience, with great encounters with the public as well as with other publishers and students, and pleasant and enriching discussions about books, political art and sensitive topics. Macaronibook does not publish traditional hardback books that appeal only to a certain audience. I am always very happy to find people who are interested in the subject I am exploring, and that is the case at your photobook fair. I leave Italy with a small and intense piece of sunshine in my heart”.
– Macaronibook

A rich publishers area was populated by Artphilein Editions, Atelier Tatanka, Cesura Publish, Depart Pour l'Image, FotoEvidence, Giostre Edizioni, GOST Books, Havaiana Papers + Tiratura, ISIA U, KABK, L’Artiere, Leporello photobooks at al., Libreria Ulisse, Macaronibook, Muddyisland, PhMuseum, RUST Publishing, RVM Hub, Studiofaganel, The Velvet Cell, Witty Books, Yogurt Editions, and Zoetrope Athens, bringing a wide range of artists and experts who presented their works. Piero Martinello and Chiara Capodici, Lavinia Parlamenti and Manfredi Pantanella, Sara Occhipinti and Alessandra Calò, Matteo Girola, Giulia Bonanno and Walter Costa, Francesca Todde and Luca Reffo, Konrad Bryczek, Luca Santese and Marco P. Valli, Pierfrancesco Celada, Serhii Korovayny, Mara Palena and Giulia Brivio, Sara Palmieri and Fiorenza Pinna, Tomasz Kawecki, Paolo Covino and Ricardo Nunes, Camille Carbonaro, Alexis Vasilikos, Francesco Fadani, Lucrezia Ceselin, Nina Bellini and Sofia Giuntini, Emanuele Satolli and Claudia Paladini, Filippo Barbero and Tommaso Parrillo, and Clara Simas shared their research and process in the Talk seating space, facilitating non-stop conversation.

“Photobook Mania was a truly inspiring and joyful event, beautifully organized and full of genuine energy. It’s wonderful to see such a strong community around photobooks growing in Italy.” – L’Artiere

“The size of the festival was great. It seems that the people who came in were not too overwhelmed by all the options. So we had many visitors who actually took quite a lot of time to look over the books.” – The Velvet Cell

Three photobooks exhibitions focused on different stages of the publishing practice: Dummies & Books from FOLIO 2024/25 displayed the prototypes produced by our Photobook-Making masterclass participants. The 2025 Photobook Award Exhibition showcased the shortlisted dummies for the first edition of PhMuseum's publishing prize. Last, Cult of Photobooks presented a selection of published titles curated by Gabriele Chiapparini, founder and host of the Small Photobook Cult podcast. These titles – by Federico Clavarino, Allan Salas, Andrea Orejarena and Caleb Stein, Pia-Paulina Guilmoth, Francesco Merlini, Maria Lax, Riccardo Svelto, Nikita Teryoshin, Aaron Schuman, Carla Williams, Lavinia Parlamenti and Manfredi Pantanella – were selected from PhMuseum's Lab public library as protagonists of existing podcast episodes or as part of its future wishlist.

“Lots of young people, everyone genuinely interested in the books, and plenty of artists and friends around. A lovely atmosphere overall.” – Artphilein Editions

Gatherings and ceremonies gave Photobook Mania its rythm. In collaboration with MAST Foundation, Max Pincker's talk Speculative Documentary Photography on Thursday evening deepened in the evolution of the Dutch photographer's relationship with photography and reality. On Saturday night, PhMuseum’s Founding and Artistic Director Giuseppe Oliverio and Visual Editor Camilla Marrese presented the inaugural issue of PhMuseum Annual, titled Imperfetto, with the first advance copies made available (now purchasable online). Following this, Botswanan artist Thero Makepe was announced as the Prize Recipient of the PhMuseum 2025 Photobook Award, while Dutch photographer from SFR Yugoslavia Dragan Saric was identified for the MPB’s Special Mention, and Claudia Amatruda received the inaugural Banca di Bologna Grant.

On Sunday morning, Alex Tabellini and Marcello Coslovi from Sugar Paper hosted Photobooks For Breakfast - Acts of Resistance, a collective conversation built around photobooks dedicated to Palestine. Right after, FOLIO’s alumni Elo Vazquez, Greta Valente, Kate Nolan, Romane Bladou, Slavena Todorova, and Viridiana Morandini presented their exhibited dummies and the process behind them.

Throughout the two days, a passionate group of 10 practitioners took part in Aaron Schuman's workshop titled Dummy Deep Dive, exploring how elements such as structure, motifs, sequencing, syntax, and contextualisation are at play within the photobook form.

“A very nice venue in a beautiful park just 'outside the wall' as they say in Bologna. It seems the city has an active photo(book) community. Also in the field of zines there is a good buzz. From abroad it is very easy to get to Bologna by plane. And Bologna: what a wonderful city!” – KABK

We are surprised and grateful for the remarkable participation from people of all ages, arriving from Italy, Europe, and overseas. We hope Photobook Mania will affirm its presence in the coming years, maintaining the open, genuine energy it proved photography spaces can have.

A special thanks to the PhMuseum 2025 Photobook Award shortlisted artists Federico Possati, Dragan Saric, Yuchen Wang, Greta Valente, Thero Makepe, Davide Sartori, Leonardo Magrelli, Serena Radicioli, Wang Xuechun, Kate Schultze and Fujimura Family, who traveled from close and distant countries to attend their exhibition, strengthening the community’s reach. A further special thanks goes to Comune di Bologna, MPB, Banca di Bologna, Card Cultura and Patto per la Lettura Bologna for supporting the initiative, to all the team members and volunteers whose work made it possible, and to all the publishers, artists, and visitors who made it unique. 

See you all next year, long live Photobook Mania.

----------

We recommend following Photobook Mania to stay updated. In sight of its new edition, you can keep an eye on our activities at the PhMuseum Lab and at our festival PhMuseum Days, while following our grant and education program on PhMuseum.com. See you very soon in Bologna and online.