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intro. They say after the art fair is before the art fair – so right in June 2018, I started to realize that this 2019 edition is going to be our 5th anniversary already. What a journey! Many of you have been with us over the past 5 years, have seen us grow and become what we are today – one of the finest art fairs dedicated to photography. It has been an incredible journey in so many ways – I am reminiscing about the past and I am excited about the future. At photo basel, we have seen a few hundred exceptional artists over the course of these years, exhibited by over one hundred wonderful galleries. We have welcomed tens of thousands of visitors, thousands of collectors as well as hundreds of museum curators as our guests during the fair. In addition we have successfully launched several initiatives and special exhibitions that are pushing photography in a non-commercial way year-round. But over the years we have also noted that the art industry in general is shifting and that art galleries are not always getting the same amount of visitors into their brick and mortar spaces and sales are not always rising. It became (just like our society) a bit of an uneven game. At photo basel we are trying our utmost best to enhance the performance of our galleries and their artists — we are all in need of a well functioning, sustainable art ecosystem. That is why I am also asking you to visit your local art galleries, get in touch with them, ask them questions, meet the artists, seek the dialogue. Our goal at photo basel is to connect you, enable you to start exploring the endless opportunities the art world has to offer. You might have noticed that we have slightly expanded in size this year. Our intention was to provide you with an even better fair experience. Subsequently, we have expanded the size for the majority of our booths slightly, resulting in a more elegant and open layout of the fair, which we believe enhances the flow and your ultimate viewing pleasure of the exhibited art works. In addition and to further maximize our participating galleries’ reach and output, we have launched a boutique online store, hosting selected works from our exhibitors, where you are able to find some true masters of photography as well as some emerging talents to purchase with a simple click.
Sincerely, Sven Eisenhut Founding Director
Fotomuseum Winterthur
Sophie Calle – Un certain regard 08.06.–25.08.2019 SITUATIONS/Porn 08.06.–13.10.2019 Still Searching... Jacob Gaboury 28.05.–15.07.2019
Aesthetica