Fairs, Networks, and the Future of Collecting
Tuesday, 10/06/2026-, 10:00 am-12:00 pm
,
, ,
RSVP / Register
Cost: $150
Gain insider access to the world’s leading photography fair, Paris Photo, with its Artistic Director, Anna Planas.
Module Description
Part of the WOPHA Institute online course Collecting Photography Beyond the Canon, this session will give attendees insider access to the world’s leading photography fair. Through a conversation with Anna Planas, Artistic Director of Paris Photo, participants will explore the evolving role of photography fairs within today’s cultural ecosystem and their influence on artists, galleries, collectors and audiences. The session will also provide an exclusive preview of Paris Photo 2026, offering direct insight into its curatorial vision, featured artists, key themes and special programmes. Through an artistically and institutionally informed perspective, participants will gain a deeper understanding of how major photography fairs shape the visibility, circulation and reception of photographic practices.
Topics to be covered
The position and influence of photography fairs within today’s cultural ecosystem
How artists and photographic practices are selected, presented and given visibility within a major international fair. Paris Photo as a case study
The ideas, conversations and developments shaping contemporary photography
The relationships between fairs, galleries, collectors, institutions and the wider public
How fairs contribute to the circulation, recognition and collecting of photography
Exclusive preview of the featured artists, curatorial themes and special programmes shaping the 2026 edition
Learning objectives
By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
Understand the role of photography fairs within the contemporary cultural and collecting ecosystem
Identify key curatorial considerations involved in developing and shaping a major international photography fair
Analyse how fairs influence the visibility, circulation and reception of photographic practices and artists
Recognise the relationships between fairs, galleries, collectors, institutions and audiences
Would have gained first-hand insight into the curatorial vision, themes and programmes shaping Paris Photo 2026
Faculty
Anna Planas is Artistic Director of Paris Photo since 2023. She regularly serves on international juries, including the Hasselblad Award, Prix Elysée and Prix LE BAL pour la Jeune Création. She was previously Director of delpire & co, a Paris-based bookshop and gallery dedicated to photography, founded in 2020. In 2013, she co-founded Temple, a platform and gallery dedicated to emerging artists and artist books, where she organised exhibitions of more than thirty artists over four years, often for their first solo presentations. She has curated exhibitions with international institutions and festivals, including Les Rencontres d’Arles, Foto Colectania, Barcelona, and Fotomuseum Winterthur. She previously managed the Magnum Gallery for over seven years, until 2013.
