Paris 2019: Our top photography picks
Paris Photo/Aperture PhotoBook Awards 2019
A real treat at Paris Photo is the opportunity to see all the books shortlisted for the PhotoBook Awards, which are run by Paris Photo and Aperture. As usual, there are three categories; the First PhotoBook prize (many of whom we’ve featured on Paper Journal including Juan Brenner, Tania Franco Klein, Csilla Klenyanszki, Adam Pape and Karla Hiraldo Voleau), the Photography Catalogue of the Year, and PhotoBook of the Year, but this year the judges also gave a ‘Special Mention’ to “the extremely strong showing of books about photobooks and magazines”. They picked out eight ‘Books About Books’ for attention, including Photobook Belge: 1954-Now (Hannibal Publishing); Czech and Slovak Photo Publications, 1918-1989 (Steidl); and How We See: Photobooks by Women (10×10 Photobooks).
Carte Blanche
Many very well-established photographers will have work on show at Paris Photo, but the fair also runs an award for up-and-coming artists which are exhibited both in the main fair and at Gare du Nord; Paris’ international railway station. The four selected artists, Giulia Parlato, Royal College of Art; Samuel Fordham and Chris Hoare, UWE Bristol; and Fernando Marante from the Ar.Co Visual Communication Center in Lisbon, are all recognised for work they have created as students.
Photography Magazine Salon
The Maison Européenne de la Photographie is hosting its first-ever Photography Magazine Salon from 08 – 10 November, co-curated by Anna-Alix Koffi, founder, creative director, and editor-in-chief of Off the Wall and Something We Africans Got, and Isabelle Evertse, founder of piK Magazine and Co-Curate. With a focus on women in photography magazine publishing, it features talks in English on all three days, on subjects such as the ‘Past, Present, and Future of Women in Photography Publishing’, and with speakers such as Emma Bowkett, photography director of the FT Weekend Magazine, and Elisa Medde, managing editor of FOAM. The Salon will also feature projections by magazines such as the FT Magazine, California Sunday, and Paper Journal.
approche
Pitched as an intimate event for connoisseurs and collectors, approche is held in a smart mansion in Paris’ first arrondissement and sees specially-invited galleries showing off work by one image-maker each. This year 12 emerging artists will have their work displayed including Benoit Jeannet, Lebohang Kganye, and Sébastien Reuzé; three more, Dune Varela, Eléonore False, and My-Lan Hoang-Thuy have been selected and will be on show in a special ‘secteur approche’.
Polycopies
A photobook fair held on a boat on the River Seine from 06-10 November, Polycopies has a rackety charm that belies its top-notch quality. Well-respected photobook publishers such as Ediciones Anómalas, Jiazazhi Press, Skinnerboox, and Zen Foto will be there throughout, while guests and friends such as Essarter Éditions and Fotobookfestival Kassel will have daily pop ups on-deck. Each day also sees several signings with photographers including big names such as Martin Parr alongside emerging artists such as Marie Quéau, Gaël Bonnefon, and Miho Kajioka.
Offprint
Offprint Paris is an art publishing fair held at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts de Paris, which includes photobook publishers but also outfits in related fields such as fine art, graphic design and academic publishing. Offprint pops up in London too, but 2019 is its tenth anniversary in Paris and sees it host 160 publishers, including Art Paper Editions, Chose Commune, cpress, Edition Patrick Frey, Fw:Books, MACK, RVB Books, SPBH Editions, and many more. A radio programme will also broadcast live from the heart of the fair. Entry costs €5 for the duration, from the opening night on 07 November until 10 November.
Photo Saint Germain
Photo Saint Germain is the umbrella for the many photography-related events happening in the Left Bank district from 06-23 November, including Polycopies and exhibitions held in cultural institutions, private galleries and hotels. The selected exhibitions are picked out by a jury featuring Simon Baker, director of the Maison européenne de la Photographie and Sebastian Hau, artistic director and founder of Polycopies, and this year the highlights include a solo show by Daisuke Yokota and a restaging of the celebrated exhibition The Whale’s Eyelash by Timothy Prus of the Archive of Modern Conflict, which is comprised solely of 19th century microscope images. Photo Saint Germain also includes the Photobook Week held at Shakespeare and Company bookshop, which this year is hosted by the Archive of Modern Conflict and curator Luce Lebart and includes events such as a “Make your own Photobook in 30 Minutes” workshop.