Paris Photo

Paris Photo: the world reference for photography since 1997

Paris Photo was born in 1997 from the vision of Rik Gadella, a Dutch art publisher, who wanted to create a leading international event for photography in all its forms. Financially supported by designer agnès b. and backed by American gallerist Harry Lunn to attract Anglo-Saxon dealers, Gadella launched the first edition at the Carrousel du Louvre with sixty galleries, three-quarters of which came from the United States, Canada, England, and Germany.

The success was immediate. In 2002, Reed Expositions France (now RX) acquired the event and gave it the resources to become the benchmark fair for the global photography market. In 2011, Paris Photo moved from the Carrousel du Louvre to the restored glass roof of the Grand Palais, an exceptional heritage setting that enhances the works and allows for an increasing number of exhibitors and visitors.

A unique panorama of world photography

Each year, Paris Photo brings together more than 220 exhibitors from over thirty countries: galleries specializing in historical and contemporary photography, publishers of photography books, dealers of vintage prints, and players in new visual writing. The fair covers the entire photographic spectrum, from daguerreotypes to digital prints, including documentary photography, fashion, portraiture, landscape, abstraction, and video.

The fair's sectors

The program is organized around several sectors:

• Galleries: the heart of the fair, with over 180 international galleries presenting works ranging from the 19th century to the most contemporary creations
• Publishers: about forty publishers of photography books, making Paris Photo the largest fair in the world dedicated to the photography book
• Curiosa: a sector dedicated to erotic and transgressive photography, curated by an invited curator
• Prisms: a thematic route highlighting trends and dialogues between works

An exceptional cultural program

Beyond the commercial fair, Paris Photo offers an ambitious cultural program: conferences, round tables, screenings, guided tours, and awards ceremonies. The Paris Photo — Aperture Book Award, presented in partnership with New York's Aperture Foundation, recognizes the best photography books of the year. Conversations with artists, curators, and collectors animate the aisles of the Grand Palais throughout the fair.

Paris Photo and Photography Week

Paris Photo is part of a broader ecosystem: during the week of the fair, all of Paris vibrates to the rhythm of photography. Galleries, museums, cultural institutions, and foundations schedule exhibitions and events related to the fair, making November the month of photography in Paris.

An event with international reach

With nearly 70,000 visitors per edition, Paris Photo is the largest global event dedicated to the photographic medium. The fair attracts an international audience composed of private collectors, museum directors, curators, gallerists, artists, and enthusiasts. It plays a central role in structuring the photography market and in recognizing the medium as a major art form of the 21st century.