From November 7 to 10, one of the favorite events for Art lovers was held: Paris Photo. For this 27th edition, more than 80,000 visitors flocked to the aisles of the newly reopened Grand Palais to admire the works of some 240 galleries, making the city the undeniable world capital of photography for a weekend .
But Paris has held a special place in the hearts of photographers for much longer. Romantic at Robert Doisneau, tourist at Martin Parr, engaged at Odieux Boby, our city was captured from all angles. And it does it well by highlighting the work of professionals for more than forty years during its famous Photo Month, launched in 1980 (and renamed Grand Paris Photo Month in 2017 for more inclusiveness).
Unparalleled enthusiasm
Since then, the month of November, the darkroom of the year with its days lasting eight minutes, has become the favorite period for photophiles. Photo Month has multiplied events every two years in the capital's institutions such as the European House of Photography (opened in 1996) and the small galleries of the Marais to highlight an eminently modern medium. A biennial that has gradually become annual with the addition of events like PhotoSaintGermain in 2011, Photo Days in 2020 and therefore Paris Photo.
Launched in 1997, the show has no equivalent. Neither Photo Fair in London (35,000 visitors, half as many) nor Aipad Photography Show in New York (barely 12,500 pilgrims) are up to par, whether in terms of attendance or casting. And then there is the setting, just unbeatable. In the first years, the event took place in the basement of the Louvre carousel, and since 2011 under the majestic glass roof of the Grand Palais – obviously this attracts the most renowned artists and collectors. In short, there is no match! “The French are connoisseurs”, recognized ten years ago the British gallery owner Tim Jefferies in the columns of Figaro“In London, chemistry is not popular. There is a symbiosis between Parisians and photography. For what ? The cultural climate.”
Develop the fanbase
A favorable climate which therefore allowed the emergence of other events such as PhotoSaintGermain, organized by the galleries of the left bank, and Photo Days, imagined by Emmanuelle de L'Ecotais. Doctor in art history and responsible for the photographic collection of the Museum of Modern Art of the City of Paris, her objective is clear: to develop the fanbase and open photography to a new audience who do not necessarily live in the districts to a single digit.
“In 2020, we started with around thirty galleries in Paris. Last year, we grew to 55 galleries in Paris and the inner suburbs, with Pantin and Romainville for example. This year, we are continuing because it is very successful. The principle of Photo Days is really to encourage all new generations to take the plunge and enter these galleries,” she explained in a podcast in 2022.
Entering is the least obvious, according to her: “Very often, people don't dare to go through the doors of galleries, thinking that they are exclusive places. In reality, that’s not the case at all!” For many, the gallery has something intimidating and forbidden. Perhaps this is why we are seeing photography arrive in hybrid places in Paris, such as the Quai de la Photo, opening in 2023. Installed on the quays, near the National Library of France, the barge combines bar, bookstore or even nautical experiences at its exhibitions to attract even the most timid.
“The idea is really to make culture accessible. It’s a fight that must be waged everywhere, at school, in cultural places…”, tells us the founder Nicolas Laugero Lasserre, also at the origin of Fluctuart, another art center floating on the Seine . “We have to bring art where it doesn’t exist. In the places that we invent, there are people who only come for the exhibitions, others only to party, but they find themselves surrounded by art and still take in their eyes.”
