The main activity is, naturally, the photo fair. More than one hundred exhibitors from all over the world will showcase the endless possibilities of the medium: portraits, landscapes, fashion, architecture, street photography, etc. Pieces by well-known artists such as Herb Ritts, Steve Schapiro, Nan Goldin, and Masahisa Fukase will meet photographs by emerging artists such as
Prue Stent,
Thomas Albdorf, Maisie Cousins, Juno Calypso, Clement Chapillon or Jocelyn Lee.
But if you’ve ever been to an art fair, you’ll know how exhausting and overwhelming they can be after a few hours. So when your brain asks for some relax, you can always visit some of the exhibitions and installations across the venue. To start with, you can go to Es Devlin’s installation
Mask, a projection-mapped sculptural work, and then continue to Darren Almond’s exhibition presented by White Cube, which mixes photography with film, painting and sculpture. After that, head to Austria.
The Art of Discovery, an exhibition showcasing five photographers of the country – including Hanna Putz, Klaus Pichler and Daniel Gebhart de Koekkoek – curated by the British Journal of Photography.
Once you’re fully recovered, you can’t miss
Exit from Paradise, showcasing Japanese and Korean photographers whose work explores topics like race, gender, and politics on East Asian countries. To end, there’s a special exhibition by Daido Moriyama, the renowned Japanese photographer who’s been capturing the country’s urban landscape and society since the ‘60s, when he became part of the Provoke Movement.
But the festival is not only about seeing. Listening to what major figures have to say about photography, the art market, their personal experiences, etc. is also part of this edition’s program. On Thursday, Edward Burtynsky will discuss his three-decade-long career with writer and curator William A. Ewing; and Mary McCartney will talk with Martin Barnes, Senior Curator of Photographs at V&A, will also talk about her body of work. On Friday, you can’t miss the talks by Es Devlin and Alex Prager, and the dialogue between Douglas Kirkland and and Terry O’Neill. And on Saturday, make sure to listen to what Esther Teichmann, Lorenzo Vitturi, and Joel Meyerowitz have to say in their respective talks.