Photo by Martin Parr that will be at Galeria Lume. Photo: Disclosure

With 43 exhibitors – 33 of which are galleries, eight publishing houses and two museums (MASP and MAM) – and works by around 300 photographers, the SP-Foto fair takes place between the 21st and 25th of August in São Paulo, at Shopping JK-Iguatemi . Arm of SP-Arte, the event reaches its 13tha edition consolidated as one of the main photography events in the country, dedicated not only to the market and collecting, but also to the debate and reflection on contemporary photography - its practices, themes, historical background and future paths.

“The sale is a result that is always awaited and expected, but it is not the only one of an event like this”, says the director of the fair, Fernanda Feitosa. “Keeping the public tuned in and interested is very important and this is part of an ongoing work by us and the galleries”, she adds.

In this sense, in addition to seeing works by celebrated national and international names – in a huge list that includes Francesca Woodman, Martin Parr, José Manuel Ballester, Jean Manzon, Antoni Abad, Helman Newton, Miguel Rio Branco, Thomaz Farkas, Mario Cravo Neto , German Lorca, Mauro Restiffe, Ana Maria Tavares, Geraldo de Barros, Pierre Verger, Cinthia Marcelle, Pedro Motta and Sofia Borges – the public will be able to attend a series of meetings with photographers, artists, curators, writers and journalists.

in the cycle Talks, a debate with the North American curator Margot Norton and the architect and critic Guilherme Wisnik, mediated by Miguel del Castillo, discusses the impact of digital contemporaneity on images and their social consequences; a conversation with journalist and researcher Ronaldo Entler and Venezuelan Julieta Gonzáles, director of Jumex (Mexico), analyzes the work of Christopher Williams, Rosângela Rennó and Wolfgang Tillmans; and a table with the American curator Barbara Tannenbaum, from the Cleveland Museum, and with Mário Cohen, addresses the photographic market and its integration with the art market.

in the programming of Meet the Artists, dedicated to the work of contemporary photographers, this year's guests are Mauro Restiffe and the duo Bárbara Wagner and Benjamin de Burca. New to this edition, the publishing sector occupies a new space at the fair dedicated to books and photo-books. Publishers Cobogó, BEI, Taschen, Madalena, Fotô Editorial, Lovely House, Terra Virgin and YOW will be present, in addition to MASP and MAM institutions.

Finally, photography and literature are the motto of another cycle of conversations, inaugurated this year in partnership between SP-Foto and Gravadeira (a space in São Paulo dedicated to courses and literary events). Conceived by the writer and critic João Bandeira, the workshop Eye to Eye – Photography & Literature features three tables: the first with Alberto Martins and Maureen Bisilliat, the second with Bob Wolfenson and Matinas Suzuki and the third with Cristiano Mascaro and Noemi Jaffe.

The professional immersion program, organized by the fair since 2015 and dedicated to the internationalization of Brazilian photography, invites this year Tanya Barson (MACBA), Sophie Hackett (Art Gallery of Ontario), Elizabeth Cronin (NY Public Library) and Simon Baker (Maison Européenne de la Photographie), who will deepen their research on Brazilian photography through visits to museums, galleries and other institutions in São Paulo.

“We have been dedicated to promoting this bridge between Brazil and abroad for years”, explains Feitosa. “And this work is bearing fruit, these contacts are maturing. When Sarah Meister came in 2015, for example, she knew little about modern Brazilian photography. Now, MoMA has already acquired some photographs from this period for its collection”. In addition, the curator of the New York Museum has been coming to the country regularly and is preparing an exhibition on Brazilian Photo Film Clubs, to be held at MoMA in 2020.

“These immersion trips have exactly this mission of introducing Brazilian photography and art to these professionals who, armed with this material and knowledge, will go deeper, explore new dialogues, draw parallels between Brazilian artists and those from other countries”, says Feitosa. . All this, obviously, also results in the market and in collecting: “Because there is an aspect of the art market that is long-term”.

Concerning the work of the approximately 300 photographers exhibited at SP-Foto, Feitosa says that the themes dealt with are quite varied, but that some axes can be identified, very much in tune with the political and social context experienced today. “There is a deep concern for artists, and photographers do not shy away from it, with issues such as environmental destruction, disorderly urban occupations, belonging and displacement, gender and race issues,” she says, citing as an example the names of Luciana Magno, Luiz Braga, Cristiano Mascaro, João Farkas and Sebastião Salgado.

To learn more about SP-Foto and meet all the exhibitors, access the website here of the fair.

SP-Photo 2019
Shopping JK Iguatemi, 3rd floor – Av. President Juscelino Kubitschek, 2041.
21 to 25 for August
Free admission


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