GOING PLACES
All about the image Photographer Brian Grech attended Paris Photo at the Grand Palais in Paris last month. This is his view of the spectacular presentations at the ultimate international fair dedicated to the photographic medium. THE INTERNATIONAL image-based art fair, an unmissable opportunity to discover and unveil today’s incredible, vast and varied photographic scene, included 199 exhibitors from 38 countries across five sectors, with a special focus on female photographers this year. Paris Photo offers a complete overview of the medium’s development from its early days to the most current experimental expressions, brought together by 168 galleries and 31 editors representing 30 countries.
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PLACES DECEMBER 2018
The leading rendez-vous for artists, influential institutions, private collectors and discerning amateurs, the 22nd edition of Paris Photo attracted almost 70,000 visitors this year, while more than 300 artists attended to sign books and take part in the rich programme of talks. Divided into five sectors, these included the main gallery, books, films, Prismes, dedicated to serial works, large formats and installations, and Curiosa, the new thematic sector, focused this year
on the body, gender and eroticism in photography, beyond the stereotyped male-centred vision. The deconstruction of the male gaze was challenged in artworks by avant-garde feminists. The female gaze was also at the heart of another new initiative this year through Paris Photo’s collaboration with France’s Ministry of Culture to honour women artists through a specific itinerary – Elles x Paris Photo, curated by Fannie Escoulen and highlighting 100 works across the fair.
