Things To Do at Paris Photo 2024 and Beyond
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Published31 Oct 2024
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Author
- Topics Festivals
Established 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. Explore The Exhibitions
Paris Photo is returning to the Grand Palais with 240 exhibitors from 34 countries. For this 27th edition, the Main sector brings together 147 galleries, 26 of which are new ones from the international scene.
Taking place in the Southeast Gallery on the ground floor of the Grand Palais, the new curated sector, Voices, will be hosted by curators Azu Nwagbogu, Sonia Voss, and Elena Navarro, who have been invited to develop a proposal around contemporary themes to (re)emerge an artistic scene or medium practice. Claudia Andujar, Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Lebohang Kganye, Cai Dongdong, Zygmunt Rytka, Gabriele Stötzer, Libuše Jarcovjáková and Markéta Othová are among the exhibited artists. Located on the first-floor walkways and curated by Anna Planas, the Emergence sector offers an exploration of the contemporary art scene at its most creative. The 23 solo shows organised by new galleries highlight a diverse range of techniques and themes, taking experimentation with the medium in new directions. For the second year, Paris Photo proposes the Digital sector dedicated to photography in the digital age. Again curated by Nina Roehrs, it features a selection of fifteen contemporary art galleries and curated platforms at the forefront of new technologies, showcasing artists who integrate digital realities into their work.
Plus, supported by the French Ministry of Culture and Kering, for the first time this year, Elles x Paris Photo exhibition, will showcase the work of women photographers through group and solo shows, curated by Raphaëlle Stopin, Director of the Centre Photographique Rouen Normandie and Former Director of the Festival de Hyères.
2. Participate In The Conversations
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. Among the highlights, artist Jim Jarmusch will join Philippe Azoury in a discussion about the influence of Surrealism on the film-maker’s work. Moderated by Azu Nwagbogu, artists Joana Choumali, Cai Dongdong, and Lebohang Kganye will discuss The Power Of Image Archives In Reimagining History. Michel Poivert and Evelyne Cohen will discuss the photographic experiments of David de Beyter, Constance Nouvel, Alice Pallot.
Organized and hosted by Federica Chiocchetti (Director and Curator of MBAL), Marc Feustel (Author and Independent Curator), Pascale Obolo (Independent Curator, Director of the African Art Book Fair), and Véronique Prugnaud (Founder and Director of The Eyes / Eyes Wide Open), the Artist Talks by The Eyes put into perspective the link between the artist and the book in their artistic practice, their editorial approach and realization. In an intimate atmosphere, each artist will share with the public their experience around their most recent publication. Among the 37 participating artists are Marina Caneve (Fw:Books), Max Pinckers (self-published), Laia Abril (Delpire & Co), Christian Patterson (TBW Books), Charlie Engman (SPBH Editions).
On the other hand, during the day devoted, Thursday 7th November, to Elles x Paris Photo, there will also be the discussion This Causes Consciousness To Fracture moderated by Sophie Delpeux about the collaboration between artists Gisèle Vienne (Choreographer), Estelle Hanania (Photographer) and Adèle Haenel (Actor) exploring the representation of the body through the camera lens.
3. Attend The Paris Photo–Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards Ceremony
Co-founded in November 2012 by Paris Photo and the Aperture Foundation, and now in its 12th year, the Paris Photo-Aperture PhotoBook Awards celebrate the photobook’s contribution to the evolving narrative of photography. After receiving 940 books from fifty-nine countries, the thirty-five shortlisted photobooks will be exhibited at the fair and the winners for all three prizes (First PhotoBook, PhotoBook of the Year, and Photographic Catalogue of the Year) will be revealed on Friday 8th November. From there, the shortlisted books will be part of an international tour, including New York at Printed Matter, in January 2025, among other venues to be announced.
4. Shop For Photography Books
Presented in a new space on the first floor of the Grand Palais, the Book sector reflects the importance of the photobook in the history of the medium. It brings together specialist publishers and features photobooks, limited editions, printed works, multiples, and artist’s books. Some of the publishers you might find inside include André Frère Editions, Editions Images Vevey, GOST, Puro Chile, RM, Loose Joints, MÖREL, RVB Books, VOID. The event also provides an opportunity to showcase books from the past through the projects of Plac’Art Photo and Dirk K. Bakker Boeken, while exclusive launches together with rare and limited editions are accompanied by more than 400 artists’ signings and discussions.
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 Animal Press, Photobook Cafe, KWY Ediciones, sun/sun éditions, Humboldt Books, Edition Patrick Frey, Fw:Books, AKA Tawla, Gato Negro Ediciones, Kaido Books.
5. 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. Katrin Koenning (Chose Commune), Israel Ariño (VU’), Máté Bartha (The Eriskay Connection), Erik Kessels, Karel de Mulder and Thomas Sauvin (RVB Books) Sophie Calle (Actes Sud), Juan Brenner (TOBE), Fabio Barile (Witty Books), Pacifico Silano (Loose Joints), Gabriele Chiapparini and Camilla Marrese (Overlapse), András Ladocsi (VOID), Cristina de Middel (RM), Francesca Todde (Départ Pour L'Image), Luca Iovino (Disko Bay), Emilia Martin (Yogurt Editions) are among the authors you would able to meet up.
6. 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. Thanks to the support of their partners - SOFIA, ADAGP, SAIF, Culture with Private Copying - Polycopies invites professional photographers of all nationalities living in France to apply for two free 20-minute portfolio reviews each. Interested artists can send an email to polycopiesandco@gmail.com with a brief introduction, a link to their website, or a pdf of up to 15 photographs, the day you would like to take part and the names of three publishers they would like to meet. Attending publishers include Blow Up Press, Kult Books, Origini Edizioni, Palais Books, Skinnerboox, Charcoal Press, Editions Lamaindonne, and Sur La Crête.
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Extra:
Loose Joints 2014—2024 at Galerie Derouillon
Curated by Nicolas Poillot, the exhibition explores the common editorial themes linking a decade of varied photographic works, from Loose Joints' catalogue. These range from projects addressing cultural and political issues to monographs by visionary photographers, from underrepresented voices to celebrated artists. The connecting threads between these works are enhanced through an experimental exhibition design by architecture and design practice Avoir, and custom-mounted prints by Artifices. Join them on Friday 08 November, 7-9pm for the vernissage, alongside an informal signing by more than fifteen of the featured artists in town for Paris Photo. Copies of all recent Loose Joints titles will also be available to browse and buy.
From Wednesday, November 6th to Sunday, December 8th 2024, Réseau LUX is organizing a unique event. Its 23 members will celebrate photography and photographers by offering free exhibitions, screenings, meet-ups, and portfolio reviews in an unusual space in the heart of Paris, a 1,200-square-meter abandoned post office that has never been open to the public. As part of this network, the Circulation(s) festival will once again present its Focus On Ukraine, an exhibition featuring 4 artists from this region, presented as part of the 14th edition held last spring.
Total by Martine Syms at Lafayette Anticipations
With her first retrospective in France, American artist Martine Syms invites visitors to experience a total work of art that extends throughout the Fondation, transforming it into a store of a new kind. Curated by Rebecca Lamarche-Vadel, Total deals with the generalization of surveillance and the permanent capture of our image as powerful dynamics in the construction of identities. Between intimate references, historical archives, cultural representations of blackness, feminist history, and invocations of spirituality, the exhibition refracts the mechanisms of legibility.
Viaggio In Italia at Italian Cultural Institute in Paris
Curated by Matteo Balduzzi, the exhibition celebrates the 40th anniversary of Viaggio In Italia, the photographic project conceived by Luigi Ghirri in 1984, considered a milestone in the history of contemporary Italian photography that offered an alternative representation of our country, and presents the 86 images contained in the original catalog, reprinted in a facsimile edition for this celebratory occasion. During the inauguration, that will take place on Thursday 7th November, 6pm, the documentary Viaggio In Italia. I Fotografi Vent'Anni Dopo by Maurizio Magri will be screened in its entirety. The facsimile reprint of the original catalog is published by Quodlibet and will be presented on Friday 8th November, 6pm, at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris.
Alfredo Jaar in discussion with Jacques Rancière at MEP
On the occasion of Paris Photo, the MEP offers a special program celebrating photography. As part of this event, artist Alfredo Jaar will present his recent works, his creative process, his inspirations, and his reflections, in a discussion with the philosopher Jacques Rancière. The meeting will be followed by a public book signing with the artist Alfredo Jaar at the MEP bookstore starting at 7pm.
Room Service #3 at Hôtel La Louisiane
The starting point of this project resides in a reflection on contemporary narratives in photographic creation on the one hand, and the myth that surrounds the hotel La Louisiane on the other hand. PhotoSaintGermain invited ten artists to take over a hotel room for four days, exploring the theme of the body and its representations. In the continuity of the creative energy that springs from the hotel known for its tradition of welcoming artists since the 1930s, PhotoSaintGermain presents an intertwining of several curations, related to the image and its use — between performance, exhibition, and publication. Marine Peixoto, Lusted Men, Marianne Marić, Nanténé Traoré, Shuwei Liu, Hélène Giannecchini and Félixe Kazi-Tani are among the exhibited artists.
Méthode by Antoine d’Agata at Centre Pompidou
At the invitation of the Centre Pompidou, photographer Antoine d'Agata is taking over one of the Museum's rooms as his studio for 100 days. Throughout this period, the public is invited to discover the artist's creative process. The artist looks back at his trajectory and tries to draw some kind of conclusion in the form of a monumental installation, the Atelier-monde (The World-Studio) and his 256 notebooks. This space contrasts the traveller’s isolation with an encounter with the public, who can observe d'Agatas he finalises his work and seeks a method to organise its narrative flow.
The Elephant In The Room: Provocations On Artificial Intelligence
This collaborative event brings together Der Greif, Foam Magazine, Photoworks, and The Photographers’ Gallery to explore the pressing issue of AI’s role in contemporary visual culture. Each institution has been delving into these themes in recent projects, providing a unique opportunity for shared dialogue. Der Greif will launch Issue 17, One Day Soon, questioning how photographers are adapting to the rise of AI-generated imagery. Foam Magazine recently published Mirror Mirror, examining the intersection of AI, art, and society. Photoworks presents Multi Multi, a publication that explores image replication through history to the digital age. The Photographers’ Gallery continues its exploration of computational photography with A Cat, A Dog, A Microwave..., investigating the cultural politics of image datasets. Speakers include Stéphane Degoutin & Gwenola Wagon (invited by The Photographers’ Gallery), Ben Millar Cole (Selected for Issue 17 by Torbjørn Rødland and presented by Der Greif), Hiền Hoàng (invited by FOAM), and Marcel Top (invited by Photoworks).
Mame-Diarra Niang and Raymond Meeks at Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson
Curated by Clément Chéroux, the two shows are the first monographic exhibition in France for both artists. Niang's Remember To Forget explores the complexities of identity through abstract, non-portrait images, while Meeks' The Inhabitants captures the traces and residues of migration, focusing on the inhospitable spaces inhabited by asylum seekers.
Science/Fiction — A Non-History of Plants at MEP
Bringing together over 40 artists from different periods and nationalities, Science/Fiction — A Non-History of Plants juxtaposes historic photographic works such as Anna Atkins’ cyanotypes, Karl Blossfeldt’s inventory of plant forms and Laure Albin Guillot’s microscope experiments with creations by contemporary artists such as Jochen Lempert, Pierre Joseph, Angelica Mesiti, Agnieszka Polska, and Sam Falls. It is an opportunity to explore the special relationship between photography and video, two techniques for capturing images that were first used for scientific research, and plants.
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Paris Photo will be open from 7th to 10th November at Grand Palais Éphémère, 2 Pl. Joffre, 75007, Paris.
