Things To Do at Paris Photo 2023 and Beyond

Founded in 1997, Paris Photo is the premier international art fair specifically dedicated to the medium of photography. Here's how you can take the most out of the main event at Grand Palais Éphémère and all the initiatives that revolve around it.

1. Participate in Panel Discussions /

Panel discussions and talks are an integral part of the event. It's an outstanding way to gain insights into the world of photography and art, as well as providing valuable opportunities for learning and engagement. Moderated by Emilie Lauriola (bookseller specialised in photography), Pascale Obolo (independent curator, Director of the African Art Book Fair), Véronique Prugnaud (Director of The Eyes) and Marc Feustel (author and independent curator), The Artist Talks by The Eyes, with Taous Dahmani as editor, seem to provide an intimate and insightful opportunity to connect with artists and gain a deeper understanding of their creative processes and publications. On the other hand, The Platform is an experimental forum: 4 days of conversations around diverse subjects central to current events, featuring personalities from the world of art and photography.

2. Attend the Paris Photo–Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards Ceremony /

The Paris Photo–Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards is an annual photography book competition that recognizes outstanding achievements in photobook publishing. This prestigious award celebrates the role of photobooks as a medium for photographers to share their work and for audiences to experience photography in a tangible and lasting format. Three awards will be presented on Friday, November 10: First PhotoBook, PhotoBook of the Year, and Photographic Catalogue of the Year. From there, shortlisted and winning titles will be exhibited in Paris, and will tour internationally thereafter.

3. Explore the Exhibitions /

Exploring the exhibitions at Paris Photo is one of the main highlights of the event. It offers a captivating opportunity to immerse yourself in the world of photography and witness a wide range of artistic expressions. As you walk through the exhibitions, you'll likely find yourself inspired by the creativity and vision of the photographers. Within the rich tapestry of visual storytelling, you will find works by artists such as Hassan Hajjaj, Omar Victor Diop & Lee Shulman, Juergen Teller, David De Beyter and Vasantha Yogananthan.

Visitors to Paris can take advantage of this opportunity to explore a wide range of photography-related activities and events throughout the city. This includes visiting photography exhibitions at renowned museums like the MEP – Maison Européenne de la Photographie, now exhibiting Viviane Sassen – PHOSPHOR: Art & Fashion 1990-2023, the first retrospective by the Dutch artist. The exhibition, which comprises more than 200 works, reveals over thirty years of multifaceted creation gathering together emblematic series, as well as unseen archives, mixed-media works incorporating photography, painting, collage and video, and fashion photography.

Partnering with PhotoSaintGermain, the group exhibition Counter Spaces provides a platform to highlight the diversity and innovation of artists from the Beaux-Arts de Paris and it is being held at the École, with the aim of showcasing the diversity of photographic writing in today's image community.

After the first exhibition in 2006 in Milan, Rinko Kawauchi returns at Fondazione Sozzani, with a site-specific exhibition curated by Emmanuelle de l’Ecotais on the occasion of the Photo Days. Her kindness and brightness of her color photographs reveal, since her first works, the mystery, the fragility and the strength of life in all its forms. The exhibition imagined by Rinko Kawauchi consists of a monumental installation, occupying the entire space of the former industrial building, a video, and a series of photographs selected from his latest series, M/E, An interlinking, and Illuminance.

4. Collect Photography /

If you are a collector or interested in starting a photography collection, Paris Photo is an excellent place to start. You can have a rewarding experience walking through the hosted galleries exhibiting historic and emerging artists. Among all, Curiosa welcomes 16 galleries from 9 countries (Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Taiwan), and illustrates once again the dynamism of the young international scene. Selected by the new artistic director, Anna Planas, 17 artists participate in the fair for the first time, with a solo show.

5. Shop for Photography Books /

The event features a variety of publishers who typically set up booths or exhibit their photography books and publications within the book fair section of Paris Photo. Some of the notable publishers you might find inside include André Frère Éditions, Aperture, MACK, Chose Commune, Damiani, Loose Joints, L'Artiere, RVB Books, GOST.

Shopping for photography books is not limited to the main venue, you can discover various photobook fairs walking around Paris. Both Polycopies and Offprint are great venues where you can explore and purchase photography publications. The two fairs bring together a diverse selection of publishers and booksellers such as Tipi Bookshop, Dienacht Magazine, Arthphilein, Humboldt Books, Deadbeat Club, Beijing Silvermine, FW:Book, Ciao Press, Ediciones Anómalas, Setanta Books, Edition Patrick Frey. You can find a wide range of photography books, from classic works to contemporary publications. Plus, these are great places to discover rare and limited-edition photo books and a curated selection of independent and art publishers.

6. Book Signings /

Book signings are a special opportunity to meet photographers, artists, and authors in person and have them sign copies of their publications. It's a great way to connect with the artists and add a personal touch to your collection. Paris Photo, Polycopies and Offprint published a schedule of book signings and author appearances in advance of the event. Yelena Yemchuk (Depart Pour L'Image), Federico Clavarino & Tami Izko (Witty Books), Hiske Altena (The Eriskay Connection), Jean-Marc Caimi & Valentina Piccinni (Overlapse), Maria Siorba (Zoethrope Athens), Alessandra Calò (Danilo Montanari Editore), Magdalena Wysocka (Outer Space Press) are among the authors you would able to meet up.

7. Join the Portfolio Reviews /

Participating in a portfolio review can be a valuable opportunity for photographers to receive feedback, exposure, and potentially even opportunities for collaboration or publication. They can be a crucial step in advancing your career in photography, helping you refine your portfolio and make meaningful connections within the industry. At Polycopies, you get the chance to participate in free portfolio reviews with publishers like Blow Up Press, Palm* Studios, Charcoal Press, Pierre Von Kleist. Photographers should send an email with a brief introduction, a link to their website or a pdf of up to 15 images, the day they wish to participate and the name of 3 publishers they would like to meet.

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Extra:

Radiographies de l'intime, Gallery Echo 119 /

Gallery Echo 119 will showcase the works of four Japanese women photographers such us Tokyo Rumando, Sakiko Nomura, Emi Anrakuji and Sayuri Ichida on the occasion of a new group show entitled Radiographies de l’intime. The exhibited artists explore the body from their female perspectives, opening a photographic dialogue on the intimate and its representations, both in Japan and in Western society.

Room Service 2, Hôtel La Louisiane /

The starting point of this project resides in a reflection on contemporary narratives in photographic creation on the one and ; and the myth that surrounds the hotel La Louisiane on the other hand. Ten artists — among them Prarthna Singh, Bérengère Fromont, Olivier Cablat, Jean-Marie Donat — have been invited to take over a hotel room for four days.

Men Untitled, Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson /

Winner of the 2021 HCB Award, Carolyn Drake presents her new series of photographs exploring her relationship to myths of masculinity in American culture. Mixing symbols of virility, self‑portraits, and photographs of men laid bare, her work functions as both introspection and documentary.

À toi de faire, ma mignonne, Musée national Picasso /

Sophie Calle celebrates in her own way the 50th anniversary of Pablo Picasso’s death, taking over all four levels of the Hôtel Salé with a unique exhibition divided in four sections corresponding to the museum’s four levels. Invited by the commissioner Cécile Godefroy, Sophie Calle explores some of her central themes, such as blindness and death, using archives and writings as sources and raw materials for her work. However, exhibition takes a curious, quirky look at a selection of Picasso’s most emblematic works, whose images or memories the artist summons through a personal narrative that unfolds on the museum’s first floor.

What's Ours, Galerie Madé /

Tracing the turbulent landscape of the 2019 revolution in Lebanon, through the devastating consequences of the Beirut port explosion in August 2020, Myriam Boulos' work is a powerful ode to tenderness in the face of violence and political upheaval.

The One Person Photobook & Common Love, L'inaperçu /

Considering the photobook as a work of art in its own right, L'Inaperçu invites every three months a personality from the world of art or publishing to present a curation of photography books. The 10th of November will be the lancement of The One Person Photobook, curated by Clément Chéroux. The event will be preceded, the evening before, by the Der Greif Issue 16 release. The German photo magazine welcomes to celebrate the "Common Love" Issue curated by Shirin Neshat and to explore their multifaceted visual narration through 86 images.

Capital Image, Centre Pompidou /

As a project in artistic research conducted by historian of photography Estelle Blaschke and photographer Armin Linke, Capital Image examines a mechanism inherent in photography: transforming the visible world into a visual archive to be exploited. The exhibition draws on very varied sources and presents a dialogue between photographic works and videos by Armin Linke, archive documents, interviews with researchers and scientists, and texts by Estelle Blaschke. The duo also presents an original piece for this exhibition.

Some Say Ice, Magnum Gallery /

Some Say Ice is is the first exhibition worldwide to exclusively present works from Alessandra Sanguinetti’s fifth book, published by Delpire & Co in September 2022. The exhibition presents a mysterious juxtaposition between mortality and timelessness, through austere intimate portraits and group shots, together with images of animals, domesticated and wild, alive, and dead, and the ghostly houses and interiors, function as scattered clues to a tale that is never fully explained, leaving it to the visitors' imagination.