Vom 12. bis 15. November kehrt Paris Photo für seine 29. Ausgabe in den Grand Palais zurück und feiert 200 Jahre Fotografie mit einem Programm, das die Geschichte des Mediums, seine sich entwickelnden Prozesse und seinen Platz in der zeitgenössischen visuellen Kultur beleuchtet.
Since its founding in 1997, Paris Photo has grown into one of the leading international events dedicated to photography.
Each year, the fair brings together galleries, publishers, artists and collectors from around the world, offering an overview of the medium across historical and contemporary practices. Returning to the Grand Palais for its 29th edition, this year’s fair takes place in the context of the bicentenary of photography, with its programme placing particular emphasis on the history of the medium and the ways in which it continues to evolve.
Photography has undergone profound changes since its invention, from the earliest chemical processes to the widespread use of digital cameras and, more recently, the emergence of artificial intelligence. Questions surrounding authorship, authenticity and the relationship between photographs and reality have become increasingly relevant. Against this backdrop, Paris Photo 2026 offers an opportunity to look back at the medium’s origins while considering the different directions in which it is moving.
The fair will bring together 244 exhibitors from 38 countries, including 197 galleries and 47 publishers. The Principal sector will account for 150 galleries, with a number of new participants joining this year’s edition, including Lia Rumma from Milan, Bienvenu Steinberg & C from New York, Filomena Soares from Lisbon and Gregor Podnar from Vienna. The fair also continues to expand its international reach with galleries such as La Cometa from Bogotá, Proyectos Monclova from Mexico City, Silverlens from Makati City and L’Atelier 21 from Casablanca.
The bicentenary will be visible from the entrance, where a major presentation of work by Thomas Ruff will trace more than four decades of the German photographer’s practice. One of the most recognised figures associated with the Düsseldorf School, Ruff’s work will be presented in a retrospective display organised in collaboration with five galleries: David Zwirner, Konrad Fischer, Mai 36, Lia Rumma and Sprüth Magers.
The historical focus continues in the Grand Palais nave, where Hans P. Kraus Jr. will present a selection of works made using some of photography’s earliest processes. Bringing together camera lucida drawings, photogenic drawings, calotype negatives, daguerreotypes, daguerreian engravings, and photograms, the presentation includes works by some of the medium’s earliest practitioners, among them Louis Daguerre, William Henry Fox Talbot, Girault de Prangey, Anna Atkins, and Hippolyte Fizeau.
These historical processes will be brought into dialogue with contemporary approaches to the photographic image. Galerie Binome will present artists revisiting early techniques such as glass plate negatives, photograms and collage, alongside more recent technologies that explore the material qualities of photography. Christophe Gaillard will show the work of Isabelle Le Minh, whose practice examines the history, forms and limits of the medium, while Alberto Damian will present a series by Italian artist Paolo Gioli dedicated to Nicéphore Niépce.
Elsewhere, the Voices sector, curated by Francesco Zanot and Zasha Colah, takes La disparition as its theme. The section considers photography’s traditional role in preserving what might otherwise disappear, at a time when the medium itself is undergoing significant changes. Among the presentations are Ulay at Charim, Léonard Pongo at Kristof De Clercq, and works by Lebohang Kganye, Sandra Brewster and Silvia Rosi at Southern Guild.
The Digital sector, curated by Marco de Mutiis, looks at the relationship between photography, technology and the ways images are produced and perceived. Bringing together galleries including Nagel Draxler, Nguyen Wahed and Carmen Araujo, the section considers both the medium’s technological origins and the emerging forms that may shape its future.
The Emergence sector will feature 20 projects from galleries working with a new generation of artists, while the Editions sector brings together 43 specialist publishers and booksellers. Its international selection includes established names such as MACK, Aperture and Atelier EXB, alongside newer participants including Gato Negro, Obsidiana, Palm Studios and Sun Archive.
A further highlight of this year’s programme is Révéler, a presentation drawn from the photography collection of the Centre Pompidou. Bringing together around 100 works by 30 historical and contemporary artists, the exhibition is organised around three themes: image-making, reproduction and identity. The selection includes Robert Cumming, Sophie Thun and Kunié Sugiura, whose work explores the different ways images can be produced; Timm Ulrichs, Dinh Q. Lê and Eileen Quinlan, who examine photography’s relationship with reproduction; and Martha Wilson, Andrzej Steinbach and Sam Contis, whose practices consider the medium’s role in the construction of identity.
Paris Photo also welcomes the Pictet Group as a new official partner. Founded in 1805, the Geneva-based group established the Prix Pictet in 2008 to recognise photography addressing environmental and social issues. For the first time, the prize will have a dedicated presentation in the Grand Palais nave, bringing together a selection of work by previous laureates. Among the photographers recognised by the prize over the years are Nadav Kander, Mitch Epstein, Valérie Belin, Richard Mosse, Joana Choumali, Gauri Gill and Alfredo Jaar.
With its combination of historical material, established practitioners, and contemporary experimentation, this year’s Paris Photo offers a timely opportunity to reflect on how far photography has travelled since its invention. Two centuries on, the medium continues to adapt, finding new forms and possibilities while remaining closely tied to the ways we record, interpret, and understand the world around us.
Paris Photo 2025 runs from November 12 to 15 at the Grand Palais. Tickets and more information are available via the offizielle Website.
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