Paris Photo 2026: Celebrating 200 Years of Photography at the Grand Palais

Paris Photo 2026 returns to the Grand Palais from 12 to 15 November, marking its 29th edition with a celebration of 200 years of photography. The Paris photography fair brings together historic prints, contemporary image-making, a specially conceived Centre Pompidou exhibition, and a programme of photobooks and conversations. For collectors and culturally curious travellers, this anniversary edition offers an opportunity to explore photography’s past while discovering how artists continue to reshape its possibilities.

Why Paris Photo 2026 is a milestone for photography

The bicentennial of photography honours the pioneering work of Nicéphore Niépce and the invention of a medium that transformed how people record and interpret the world. The wider celebration runs from September 2026 to September 2027, bringing together historical and contemporary photography through exhibitions and projects in France and internationally.

At Paris Photo, that history becomes a route through the Grand Palais. The organisers have announced a bicentennial trail connecting works from the 19th century to the present, with gallery presentations featuring early processes such as calotypes and daguerreotypes alongside contemporary approaches.

The bicentennial of photography celebrates how it reshaped our worldview.

Inside the Centre Pompidou’s bicentennial exhibition

Among the Paris Photo 2026 exhibitions, a central highlight is Révéler (Revealing), a presentation drawn from the Centre Pompidou photography collection. Bringing together approximately 100 works by around 30 historical and contemporary artists, it explores photographic practices from the early 20th century to the present.

The exhibition examines image-making, reproduction, and identity through artists who challenge what a photograph can do. Kunié Sugiura’s work contributes to questions about how images are constructed, while Martha Wilson and Andrzej Steinbach feature in an exploration of portraiture, self-representation, and the role of images in shaping identity.

Rather than offering a complete chronological survey of all 200 years, Révéler provides a more focused perspective on photography’s changing nature. It encourages visitors to look beyond a photograph’s subject and consider the choices, processes, and assumptions behind the image.

From historic prints to new ways of seeing

At the entrance to the Grand Palais, Thomas Ruff will introduce that spirit of experimentation through a retrospective installation conceived as an “open book”. His presentation will explore an approach to image-making that questions photography itself, setting the tone for an edition concerned with both the medium’s history and its transformations.

Across the fair, the Main sector and its large-scale Prismes projects sit alongside Voices, Digital, Emergence, and Book. Analogue processes, installations, large-format works, and digital experiments will bring different kinds of photographic practice into the same setting.

Another perspective comes through Elles × Paris Photo, the programme highlighting women artists in photography. Alongside the bicentennial trail, it gives visitors another way to connect discoveries across the fair.

Analogue processes, installations, and digital experiments.

Beyond the frames: Photobooks, conversations, and discoveries

For visitors interested in Paris Photo photobooks, the Book sector brings together 48 publishers and specialist booksellers from 17 countries, spanning contemporary publications, historical editions, and rare books. Publishing also takes centre stage through the Paris Photo–Aperture PhotoBook Awards, recognising achievement in First PhotoBook, PhotoBook of the Year, and Photography Catalog of the Year.

The Book Talks programme brings artists and publishers together to discuss the relationship between photography and the book. Announced conversations include Sofia Coppola with Michael Mack, alongside Roger Eberhard with Shoair Mavlian. Sessions are scheduled daily from 2pm to 5pm during the fair.

The Conversations programme will feature photographers including Thomas Ruff, Thomas Demand, and Zanele Muholi, alongside curators and image theorists. Discussions will explore collecting, photography’s relationship with conflict and its aftermath, and different ways of interpreting an artist’s work. These encounters offer a chance to hear the ideas behind the images, adding context to discoveries made on the gallery stands.

Paris Photo wider programme features photobooks, conversations, and discoveries.

Plan your Paris Photo experience with MA Hospitality Group

Make Paris Photo 2026 the starting point for a cultural stay that extends beyond the Grand Palais. Leave room for other Paris photography exhibitions, museum visits, gallery discover, and cultural events in the city, with an itinerary shaped around the presentations and conversations that interest you most.

MA Hospitality Group can assist with premium access to leading art fairs, alongside luxury accommodation, private chauffeur services, dining reservations, and personalised Paris itineraries.

Contact our team to plan a curated Paris Photo 2026 experience.

See more: Paris Art Week