Things To Do At Paris Photo 2025 And Beyond
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Published6 Nov 2025
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The energy of Paris Photo radiates far beyond Grand Palais. Museums, independent spaces, and even boats on the Seine become hubs for discovery. Here are some highlights to best organize your time across the capital on 13-16 November.
1. Explore The Exhibitions Inside The Grand Palais
Bringing together 179 galleries from 33 countries, the 2025 fair is defined by a profound dialogue between the medium's storied past and its unstable, digitized future, anchored by a landmark collection and a series of dynamic, forward-looking sectors.
Curated by José Esparza Chong Cuy and Marie Perennès, and with over 60 works spanning from the 1940s to today, The Last Photo is the first major European presentation of the Estrellita B. Brodsky collection of Latin American art. Featuring masters like Diane Arbus and the Bechers alongside contemporary forces like Regina Galindo, Tania Franco Klein, and Pablo López Luz, the exhibition questions the very nature of the photographic image in a post-analog world and explores how this "medium in flux" complicates our understanding of truth and memory.
Presented by Cnap, Faire Familles - Making Families features works delving into the idea of family, viewed through the lens of social changes and the politics of intimacy. The exhibition also addresses the question of migration, exile, and their effects on family memory—whether it is transmitted, lost, or reconstructed. Bonds between individuals, along with their differences and similarities, are explored by artists Carolle Bénitah, Donna Gottschalk, Nhu Xuan Hua, Yveline Loiseur, and Vasantha Yogananthan, whose works have recently entered the collection.
On the main floor, the fair’s sectors map the breadth of the medium. The Main Sector balances historical masters with contemporary heavyweights, featuring solo shows from artists like Sally Mann (Jackson) and Claudia Andujar (Vermelho). This year, curated by Devika Singh and Nadine Wietlisbach, the Voices Sector moves to the central nave, offering a deliberately "decentred" perspective on landscape and kinship, with works tackling the social and political stakes embedded in our environments, and spanning documentary to more personal and speculative proposals. Looking to the future, the Emergence Sector provides a vital pulse-check, platforming 20 solo projects from a new generation of international talents, including Chloé Azzopardi, Bérangère Fromont, Melissa Schriek, Claudia Fuggetti, András Ladocsi, Suwon Lee, and Emma Sarpaniemi. This energy is crystallized in the Digital Sector, now in its third year. Curated by Nina Roehrs, this section acts as the ideological bookend to the Brodsky exhibition, presenting artists who are not just using new technologies but are actively shaping the evolving ecology of the image.
Curated by Devrim Bayar, the Elles × Paris Photo path highlights women artists and their role in photography. This year's theme is the complex interaction between the figure and its environment, exploring how bodies inhabit space and assert or erase their presence. The selection reflects on visibility and identity, reminding us that images are never unequivocal, but are layered with meanings that shift with each viewer's gaze.
2. Venture And Visit Shows All Across The City
Paris Photo’s 'off-program' springs to life as museums, galleries, and independent spaces host exhibitions beyond the fair's walls. The institutional highlights are particularly strong. Both poetic and political, Performing The Invisible by Hoda Afshar at Musée du Quai Branly is an exploration of the history of established perspectives, making photography a tool of revelation and resistance. Featuring a combination of photographs, drawings, mirrors, videos, and sound installations, the exhibition follows the central elements of a work that invites reflection on our relationship with the images and the narratives they construct.
We Others at Le Bal brings together photographer Donna Gottschalk, writer Hélène Giannecchini, and artist-historian Carla Williams, three women from different generations committed to making lives excluded from dominant narratives visible. The exhibition contrasts Gottschalk's intimate 1960s/70s portraits from the LGBT+ rights movement with Williams's self-portraits that challenge the absence of Black women in photo history, all framed by Giannecchini's contemporary writing on minority archives.
As the first prize recipient of the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès’ Latitudes program, Radio Ballast by François-Xavier Gbré at Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson documents the colonial-era railway in Côte d’Ivoire. The photographic series explores the overlapping temporal layers of the country's history, using the railway to represent the past as a complex, rumor-like, and entangled narrative.
Tyler Mitchell's Wish This Was Real at MEP is a ten-year survey of his photography, video, and sculpture that explores self-determination and the extraordinary beauty embedded in everyday Black life. The exhibition propels a visual narrative of utopia and style, structured in three thematic sections that trace his artistic evolution from early works on leisure and community to complex pastoral scenes and intimate portraits of family as a sanctuary. MEP is also hosting Dialect by Felipe Romero Beltrán, an exhibition where softness and tenderness emerge in each image, and that invites viewers to experience time and waiting through gestures and glances.
Organized in the iconic neighborhood of Saint-Germain-des-Prés every November, PhotoSaintGermain offers a free and publicly accessible trail of exhibitions in a selection of museums, cultural centers, galleries, and bookstores on the Left Bank. This event highlights a specialized and eclectic program designed by the partner galleries, as well as several original exhibitions and new projects conceived and produced by the festival. By offering such a rich and varied photography trail, the festival has become a flagship event of November in Paris.
Additionally, the Rencontres Photographiques Du 10ème is a Parisian biennial photography festival, directed by the Fetart collective, that exhibits emerging and professional artists in diverse public spaces and galleries across the arrondissement. The event aims to make contemporary photography accessible to all, using art as a way to question pressing social, ecological, and political issues. Featuring the artists' work in open-air and public spaces, this year's edition also places a special focus on contemporary Brazilian photography.
3. Participate In The Conversations
Organized in collaboration with Printed Matter, this year's Book Talks program focuses on artists' books and publishers, using Lawrence Weiner's work as a framework to explore critical visual reading. The event features daily one-hour discussions with professionals and 30-minute sessions on new publications, examining the photobook's role in contemporary art practice. Susan Meiselas, Renée Mussai, Keisha Scarville, Joan Fontcuberta, Hoda Afshar, Taous Dahmani, Erik Kessels, Clément Chéroux, Bharat Sikka, and Michael Famighetti are only a few of the names involved in the discussions.
On the other hand, Paris Photo's annual Conversations series brings together art leading world figures for daily one-hour sessions at the Grand Palais to explore the challenges and developments in photography. The 2025 program includes a conversation with Sophie Ristelhueber, a performative lecture by Carmen Winant, followed by a conversation with Gem Fletcher, a film screening by Clément Cogitore, a performance by Martine Gutierrez, and a discussion on AI in artistic creation.
Plus, on the occasion of Paris Photo, the MEP presents a special programme celebrating photography and featuring several talks, screenings, and book signings. Among the highlights, on Wednesday 12 November, Valeria Cherchi will present her research project Re:Birth, which explores obstetric and gynaecological violence and its intimate, social, and political repercussions. The artist will be in conversation with Sonia Bisch, president of the association Stop aux Violences Obstétricales et Gynécologiques (VOG), to open a discussion on contemporary issues surrounding these forms of violence and their recognition. A conversation between artist Diana Markosian and independent curator Lou Stoppard will take place on Friday 14 November, 6pm - 7.30pm. It will be an opportunity to explore Markosian's work, her artistic journey, and her recent projects — in particular her latest monograph, Father. The talk will be followed by a book signing session at the MEP Bookshop.
In addition, Polycopies features roundtables on diverse topics like photobook distribution, ecology, and psychiatry, alongside spotlight conversations with major artists like Paul Graham, JH Engström, and Erik Kessels. The program also includes presentations by Magnum photographers Lúa Ribeira and Susan Meiselas, a talk on chronophotography, and a documentary screening on the Japanese avant-garde.
4. Attend The Paris Photo–Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards Ceremony
Since 2012, the Paris Photo-Aperture PhotoBook Awards have celebrated and honored the essential role of the photobook in the dissemination and evolution of photography. This year, after receiving over one thousand submissions from fifty-five countries, thirty-seven titles have been selected for the 2025 shortlist. These books will be exhibited at Paris Photo before embarking on an international tour, beginning at Printed Matter in New York in January 2026. The prize recipients across the three categories—First PhotoBook, PhotoBook of the Year, and Photography Catalogue of the Year—will be announced at the fair on Friday, November 14, at 3pm on the Balcon de l’Horloge. The jury is composed of Brendan Embser (Senior Editor, Aperture), Florian Koenigsberger (Image Equity Lead, Google), Paul Moakley (Executive Producer, The New Yorker), Anna Planas (Artistic Director, Paris Photo), and Keisha Scarville (Artist). Notably, the shortlist for the First PhotoBook category includes My Father Died Three Times by Clara Simas, published by Propágulo, whose first dummy was developed during the FOLIO 2023/24 PhMuseum Online Photobook Masterclass.
5. Shop For Photography Books
Discover various photobook fairs while walking around Paris. Polycopies transforms the Concorde-Atlantique boat into a large ephemeral gathering fully dedicated to photography books. In 2025, the event will bring over a hundred international publishers and booksellers from more than twenty countries, who will be hosting events, round tables, signings, professional meetings, and portfolio reviews for five days. Among the attending publishers, bookstores and artists are Jojo Books, Look Publishing, Multipress, Sun/Sun, Tosca Press, Moksop and Ist Publishing, Saetta (france), La Chancleta Voladora, Raya Editorial, Aka Tawla, Disko Bay, Cesura Publish, Book and Sons, KWY Ediciones, Max Pinckers, The Eriskay Connection, RUST Publishing, Zoetrope Athens, Zone, Setanta Books, and more.
Plus, this year Offprint Paris will take place at Césure, bringing together over 150 independent experimental and socially engaged publishers in the fields of arts, architecture, design, humanities, and visual culture. Among the attending publishers are Ciao Press, Chose Commune, Atelier EXB, Edition Patrick Frey, Humboldt Books, Ecal/ Ecole Cantonale D'art de Lausanne, Fw:Books, LUMA Arles, RVB Books, S U N, MACK, Roma Publications, Mörel, Poursuite, Spector Books, sun/sun éditions, and more.
6. Meet The Authors For Book Signings & Launches
Book signings are a special opportunity to meet photographers, artists, and authors in person and add a personal touch to your collection. More than 400 photographers, authors, and artists participate in the Book Sector, making it a hub for exchange, discovery, and engagement with the photo book. Additionally, Polycopies and Offprint also offer the opportunity to meet authors, discover their new book, have a book signed, or talk about photography.
On Sunday 16 November, 11.30am, at the Jeu de Paume Bookshop, Atelier EXB invites visitors to the launch of Todd Hido’s new book, The Dead Are Glad To Be Remembered, followed by a discussion between the author and the book's editor, Jordan Alves.
To coincide with her exhibition at Le Louxor cinema, an Art Deco gem with Egyptian-inspired architecture and a mecca for Parisian cinema, Sandra Guldemann Duchatellier will launch her book Une Fable Égyptienne, an encounter between past and present that gives rise to a visual narrative that is both documentary and poetic, where fragments compose a reinvented memory. The first photobook dummy of her work was developed during the FOLIO 2023/24 PhMuseum Online Photobook Masterclass.
Plus, on Friday 14 November, 7pm-11pm, you can join Loose Joints at LSD Laboratory Scan & Developing Paris for a special launch party and one-night only exhibition of Daniel Arnold’s You Are What You Do. Exclusively on that night, three Daniel Arnold T-shirts will also be available.
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Extra:
Un Air De Famille at L'INAPERÇU
In order to offer an eclectic, high-quality choice of books, every three months L'INAPERÇU invites a personality from the world of art or publishing (artists, publishers, critics or art historians) to present a curation: a thematic selection of photography books. On the occasion of Paris Photo, a new selection curated by American photographer Todd Hido, and titled Un Air De Famille (A Family Resemblance) will be launched on 10 November, 6pm.
An intimate and high-quality art fair at the Maison de l'Amérique latine, MIRA showcases the vitality of the contemporary Latin American art scene through a "de-celerated" program designed to foster deep dialogue. Framed by a theoretical approach championing embodied knowledge and "lo mágico," this second edition features key photography exhibitions, including Drawing The Territory, which uses works from two major collections to question how spatial identity is constructed and contested. Among the presented artists working with the photographic medium, Shinji Nagabe's research focuses on developing a deeply personal series of textile-based artworks, drawing from his experiences of cultural adaptation and his recent exploration of his homosexuality. The soft sculptures he creates challenge conventional perceptions of how traditions and lived experiences shape both individual and collective identities, inviting viewers to reflect on the complexities of belonging and the fluid exchanges catalyzed by globalization.
Biennale De l'Image Tangible 2025
The Biennale de l'Image Tangible is a month-long Paris event showcasing contemporary artists who break from traditional photography by using hybrid techniques, new supports, and unconventional approaches to reality. Its fourth edition features multiple exhibitions, including group shows at 100 Etablissement Culturel Solidaire and Atelier Néerlandais, which present diverse practices ranging from generative art and post-digital materiality to explorations of queer identity and environmental themes. Among the featured artists are Ivan Murit, Kia Sciarrone, Maxim Zmeyev, Dora Tishmann, Alice Pallot, Jonàs Forchini, Céline Guillerm, Florence Pinson Ynden, Olivier Gain, and Ming Pang.
Now in its sixth edition, Photo Days is a month-long, city-wide event that unites a vast network of museums, galleries, and foundations to showcase the full spectrum of global photography. Its "parcours" (route) model encourages exploration, highlighted by a "carte blanche" program that invites artists like Juliette Agnel, Julie Balagué, Yan Carpenter, Sandra Guldemann Duchatellier, Antoine Schneck, and Paolo Ventura to exhibit in atypical venues. Beyond these central figures, the festival also showcases a wide array of other photographers, such as Manuel Álvarez Bravo and Edouard Élias, through its extensive network of partner galleries and institutions.
Der Greif Issue 18 Launch at Paris Photo
Der Greif will launch Issue 18 titled Tomorrow Is Today at the Paris Photo Media Lounge. Guest-edited by conceptual artist Hank Willis Thomas and supported by Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung, Issue 18 brings together 90 artists exploring the urgency of the present moment and the future we choose to shape today. The appointment is on 13 November, 5pm - 7.30pm at the newly renovated Grand Palais for an evening of conversation, connection, and community.
And The Sky Will Follow by Rachelle Bussières at Bigaignon
Rachelle Bussières invites us into a luminous horizon of time, light, and presence. Drawing inspiration from Etel Adnan’s poetic meditations on place, duration, and perception, Bussières weaves a language of subtle chromatic atmospheres. Through techniques of dodging, masking, and carefully gestural shielding, she sculpts gradients and tones not through pigment but through the temporal interplay of exposure and shadow. Not developed the traditional way, the final colored motif which appears on her luminogram emerges on the black and white paper in the fixer bath, a moment of paradoxal revelation that crystallizes what was once invisible.
POLARAKI – Thousand Polaroids by Araki Nobuyoshi at Musée Guimet
POLARAKI presents a major donation of Araki Nobuyoshi's Polaroids (1997-2024) from collector Stéphane André, displayed in a dense, 43-column installation that mimics the collector's private apartment. This exhibition simultaneously pays tribute to Araki's frenetic, diary-like use of the medium and explores the obsessive "cabinet of curiosities" nature of collecting his provocative work.
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Paris Photo will be open from 13th to 16th November at Grand Palais Éphémère, 2 Pl. Joffre, 75007, Paris.
