Looking Back at Paris Photo 2024 — and Ahead to the 2025 Edition
A Remarkable Return to the Grand Palais
The 27th edition of Paris Photo took place at the Grand Palais in Paris from 7–10 November 2024, marking a long-awaited return to the iconic glass structure after years of renovation. The fair hosted 240 exhibitors from 34 countries, spread across nearly 21,000 m² and welcomed around 80,000 visitors — figures confirmed by Le Journal des Arts and Paris Art Now.
More than just a comeback, 2024’s edition felt like a redefinition of the event: expanded sectors, renewed energy, and a strong focus on editorial and emerging practices.
Key Highlights and Trends
1. The Grand Palais Comeback
With its vast nave reopened, the fair gained both scale and gravitas. Paris Art Now noted that “the new layout encouraged a complete rethink of how galleries and publishers engage the audience,” while the Grand Palais itself hailed the event as “a spectacular return for photography to its rightful home.”
2. New Sections and Expanded Focus
Paris Photo 2024 introduced new sections such as Voices — dedicated to socially engaged and experimental practices — and expanded its Digital and Emergence sectors. These platforms offered visibility to younger galleries and artists pushing the boundaries of photographic language.
3. The Power of the Photobook
One of the fair’s strongest statements came from the photobook world.
According to Le Monde, the number of publishers increased from 35 to 45, confirming the vitality of this niche yet essential ecosystem. Visitors crowded around publisher stands — from Aperture to independent houses like Loose Joints — making the book section one of the fair’s liveliest zones.
4. A Dialogue Between History and Experimentation
Paris Photo 2024 embraced a sophisticated balance between modern masters and contemporary innovators.
Major installations, such as August Sander’s monumental series People of the Twentieth Century, stood alongside emerging artists experimenting with new materials and digital media. El País described this year’s edition as “a conversation across eras, styles, and continents.”
5. The Market: Steady and Diversified
High-end sales remained strong — Observer reported works by Hiroshi Sugimoto at Fraenkel Gallery reaching prices up to €500,000 — but the fair also featured a broad range of more accessible works, signaling a diversified collector base.
The 2024 Aperture Photobook Awards
As every year, the Paris Photo–Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards celebrated excellence in photographic publishing.
First Photobook Award Winner (2024): Born from the Same Root by Tsai Ting Bang (Aperture Foundation, Nov 2024).
The shortlisted books were displayed in a dedicated space within the fair, underscoring the ongoing centrality of the photobook as both an artistic object and a collector’s item.
The Galleries and Publishers That Stood Out
Several names were repeatedly highlighted across international coverage :
Pace Gallery — with a striking homage to Robert Frank, one of the fair’s most discussed presentations.
Fraenkel Gallery — showing Hiroshi Sugimoto, a critical and market favorite.
Gagosian — impressive portraits and iconic works drew large crowds.
Robert Morat, Alta Gallery, Christophe Guye Galerie, and Georges-Philippe & Nathalie Vallois — all praised for curatorial coherence and historical insight.
On the publishing side: Aperture, Loose Joints, and the Polycopies satellite fair were recurrently cited as vital hubs for the photobook community.
What to Expect for Paris Photo 2025
Scheduled for 13–16 November 2025, the next edition is already building anticipation. According to the fair’s organizers (ParisPhoto.com):
220 exhibitors are confirmed, including 178 galleries and 42 publishers from 33 countries.
Roughly 60 newcomers will join the roster.
The fair will continue to emphasize “diversity of photographic writing” and “cross-disciplinary practices.”
We can expect a continuation of 2024’s key themes — but with greater international reach and a more fluid integration of digital, archival, and experimental practices.
Why You Should Go
For professionals: it remains the most influential platform for galleries, publishers, and institutions in Europe.
For photographers and independent publishers: the Emergence and Book sections offer rare opportunities for exposure and networking.
For collectors and enthusiasts: the fair is the perfect blend of market energy and artistic discovery.
For curators, editors, and festival organizers: it’s where visual trends, documentary approaches, and aesthetic evolutions first surface — a barometer of where photography is heading.
Looking Ahead
Paris Photo 2024 was not just a return to form; it was a renewal of purpose — blending heritage and experimentation, art and publishing, history and innovation.
For anyone involved in photography — whether as creator, curator, or collector — the upcoming 2025 edition promises to extend that dialogue even further, opening new spaces for emerging voices and reaffirming Paris as the capital of contemporary photography.
