Paris Photo 2016

We are enchanted to welcome you to this 20th edition of Paris Photo, the largest international art fair dedicated to the photographic medium and key event for dealers, collectors, curators, artists and art aficionados. Paris Photo’s mission, since its creation in 1997, is to reunite an exceptional selection of artworks in an exploration of photography in all its forms, from vintage works to contemporary creations, from the world’s premier galleries and book dealers. Thanks to considerable support, the fair evolved rapidly, as the excitement around the medium was immediate. From 1999, 80 exhibitors participated at the fair, vs 50 only two years earlier, carrying the colours of 16 countries, even then. There were 97 in 2000, 100 in 2002, marking the year that the fair was acquired by Reed exhibitions. With the arrival of the fair at the Grand Palais in 2011, Paris Photo grew in numbers with 135 exhibitors from 23 countries, and innovative new programming thanks to the additional spaces at the Grand Palais. The Platform, reuniting some 20 conversations, new exhibition programmes including recent acquisitions from major institutions or private collections, the Paris Photo-Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards, and the signature programme that reunites numerous artistes each year for the fair. Today we await some 60 000 visitors who will be able to discover 153 galleries, in both the main sector and PRISMES dedicated to large formats and series in the Salon d’Honneur. 30 international publishers complete this panorama, to which we add the exhibitions of our official partners, J.P. Morgan presenting a selection of their collection, and BMW with Alinka Echeverria, as well as our associate partners, Leica and the Oscar Barnack Award, Pernod Ricard with Omar Victor Diop, Erwin Olaf with Ruinart, and young artists presented by Huawei, which contribute to enrich this year’s fair. Our partners are warmly thanked. The 20th edition merits an exceptional programme. On this occasion Paris Photo will release a special publication, historical and contributive, coedited with Xavier Barral, highlighting key moments in the history of the fair. Beyond the Grand Palais, a carte blanche has been awarded to Raphaël Dallaporta who proposes to travelers at the Gare du Nord a unique 30 meter-long photo-installation. Beginning October, Paris Photo is also on-the-air with Radio Nova with guest curators and artists who will give voice to selected images. Discover the images as they are revealed via the Paris Photo and Radio Nova websites. This 20th edition has a vocation to bring together, enrich, enlighten, and to incite debates and exchanges. Thank you for following us each year, always in greater numbers, inquisitive of the discoveries to be made at Paris Photo and passionate about the photographic medium in all its forms. FLORENCE BOURGEOIS Director of Paris Photo Christoph Wiesner Artistic Director of Paris Photo