Since its founding in 2014, the Fair has firmly embedded photography and visual art within Shanghai’s cultural DNA and has been deeply involved in fostering the growing enthusiasm for contemporary photography in China. As the first edition to take place in the Spring season, this year’s Fair harnesses the gathering strength of local art museums and art institutions in Shanghai, and aims to explore the vibrancy and diversity of the cities and regions beyond.
View more in the album above
The brand new sector Culture Spaces, which evolved from the Not for Profit sector of the last edition, further highlights the important role of museums, institutions, and cultural organisations in the development of photographic art. Among them, the Miguel de Cervantes Library (Shanghai), the Pro Helvetia Shanghai, Swiss Arts Council (Shanghai), the Swatch Art Peace Hotel (Shanghai), and Fotografiska (Stockholm, New York, Tallinn), all present rich photography and video art projects at the Fair.
The Miguel de Cervantes Library, whose mission is to promote the culture of Spanish-speaking countries, presents a solo project of José Manuel Ballester, winner of the Spanish National Photography Prize. Browsing in Disguise, a project supported by Pro Helvetia Shanghai, presents the works of three emerging Swiss artists who rethink technological images and the new forms of cultural and intellectual production associated with them.
The artist residency programme of the Swatch Art Peace Hotel has been providing learning and development opportunities for emerging artists from China and around the world since 2011, and their group exhibition DIALOGUES features several emerging photographic talents that have participated in the residency. Fotografiska, showcases the works of Lori Nix & Kathleen Gerber, an artistic duo known for making and photographing ultra-realistic miniatures.
Established in 2021, the Publishing sector celebrates the unique nature of photobooks and art publications. This year the sector includes more than ten high-quality publishers from at home and abroad. Northing, a non-profit cultural organisation, showcases a selection of Norwegian photobooks in collaboration with Fotobokfestival Oslo 2023, including a new book published by Kinakaal Forlag, created by Shanghai artist Ma Liang and Bergen artist Tonje Bøe Birkeland.
GOST Books (London), one of the UK’s leading independent publishers of visual arts and photography, features the newly-revised edition of Mark Power’s project The Shipping Forecast, which depicts the thirty-one sea areas of Western Europe, as categorised by the daily BBC Shipping Forecast; and Gli Isolani, a two-year project by award-winning female photographer Alys Tomlinson, documenting the traditional costumes worn on the islands of the Venetian Lagoon, Sicily and Sardinia.
Publishing group ACC ART BOOKS (London, New York, Shanghai, Singapore) will present Chinese portrait photographer Pang Xiaowei’s new book Farmer, representing a curated selection of neary 160 portraits of contemporary Chinese farmers. This powerful series highlights the strong connection between the photographer and the subjects.
The Eriskay Connection (Breda) presents Shooting the Tiger by Xu Xiaoxiao portraying the costumes, performances and dances at the traditional festival Shèhuŏ in the Northwest of China; and Some Way Out Of Here by Jos Jansen, who works with a 3D LiDar camera to capture the uncertainties of contemporary life.
SEISODO (Kyoto) returns with Ryoji Akiyama‘s acclaimed photobook Dear Old Days and its 2 subsequent reprints; and Chugoku no Tabi (“Journey to China”), a major work by the celebrated Japanese photographer Ihei Kimura.
Jiazazhi (Ningbo, Shanghai) returns with several new publications by contemporary Chinese photographers and artists, including Chen Zhe’s Pick Your Poison highlighting in-depth dialogues between the artist and her peers between 2011 to 2022; and Taca Sui’s Steles – Huang Yi Project, which focuses on the stone steles that have played a crucial role in the documentation of the history of China.
Further expanding the Fair’s exploration of the convergence of photography and digital art, this PHOTOFAIRS Shanghai has invited ALiCE, a virtual human, to serve as its official ambassador with the aim of co-creating a video surrounding “reality and imagination” and exploring the future of video art through a series of creative visuals.
PUBLISHERS
1908 Photobook Library(Hangzhou), ACC ART BOOKS(London,New York, Shanghai, Singapore), AKIO NAGASAWA PUBLISHING(Tokyo), AKAAKA (Kyoto), Atelier EXB (Paris), Fotobokfestival Oslo 2023(Oslo), GOST Books(London), Jiazazhi(Ningbo, Shanghai), Kinakaal Forlag(Bergen), Libro Arte(Tokyo), Meet Camera(Shenzhen), more more artbook(Shanghai), Northing(Bergen), Photism Photography Art Space(Chengdu), Same Paper(Shanghai), SEISODO(Kyoto), SHUSHUSHUSHU BOOKS(Berlin), The Eriskay Connection(Breda), T&M Projects(Tokyo), ysy_studio (Shanghai)
Culture Spaces
Fotografiska (Stockholm, New York, Tallinn), Miguel de Cervantes Library (Shanghai), Pro Helvetia, Swiss Arts Council (Shanghai), Swatch Art Peace Hotel (Shanghai)
Opening
Collector Preview (by invitation only) Thu 20 April 14:00-21:00
VIP Preview Fri 21 April 12:00-20:00
Public Day Sat 22 April 12:00-20:00
Public Day Sun 26 April 12:00-18:00
Venue Address: Shanghai Exhibition Center, 1000 YanAn Road (C), near Tongren Road
