Martijn van Pieterson is the President of AIPAD, Marie Pelletier interviewed him.
You are the first non-North American gallerist to lead AIPAD. What is your history with the organization, and what motivated you to take on the role of President?
– It is an honor and a privilege to be AIPAD’s president. Even before we opened a gallery, my wife, Annemarie, and I visited The Photography Show, and we were always so impressed by the quality and the knowledge of its participants. Needless to say, we were keen to join AIPAD when we set up our gallery, IBASHO. After a few years of visiting and exhibiting as a guest exhibitor, we became a member in 2018. As non-American members, we feel it is important to be engaged in the organization and when I joined the board of AIPAD, I found a team of enthusiastic and committed members with great ideas and passion to help the organization develop and move forward. I did not hesitate to accept the role of president when Michael Lee’s term ended.
Your gallery, IBASHO, is located in Antwerp and opened in 2015. Did you visit AIPAD while it was held at the Park Avenue Armory? How do you feel about its return to the iconic location this year?
– Returning to the Park Avenue Armory feels like coming home to the organization and its members. We did visit the Photography Show there in the past and its location and grandeur make it the most suitable place to host our fair in New York again.
Two years on from The Photography Show’s pandemic hiatus, what’s your view of the current photography market?
– It has been quite the rollercoaster the last couple of years. After a period of a strongly developing online market during and after the pandemic, in-person events like fairs have come back very strongly. There is a tendency towards contemporary photography which is not surprising, such as an interest in the materiality and unicity of alternative processes, mixed media and collages, but generally there is a strong focus on quality within all areas of photography collecting.
This year’s Photography Show roster has quite a few galleries based outside the United States. How is the membership and participation in AIPAD evolving?
– As an organization, we are strongly focused on the international aspect of AIPAD, making extra efforts in recruiting international galleries to our fair and membership. During the pandemic, when our collaboration with Paris Photo was not able to materialize, our member numbers dropped off a bit. The organization persevered and acted resolutely by successfully organizing smaller versions of the fair at Center 415 in New York. Clearly showing existing and prospective members that after over 40 years, AIPAD is still a force to be reckoned with in the photography market. The return to the Park Avenue Armory only amplifies this resulting in a strong growth of our membership across the spectrum of photography galleries.
What are some of the things that AIPAD is doing to court new collectors?
– Apart from bringing an extremely strong roster of galleries, we have an exciting program for this year’s fair. There will be a book market with publishers and rare book dealers, an exciting talks program, and a variety of partner programming.
Outside of the fair itself, what are your goals for AIPAD as an organization during your tenure?
– Next to the fair, we are strongly focused on building out our membership internationally and domestically, in North America. We have developed a new associate member class to allow younger exciting galleries to join earlier. We are also exploring partnerships with other international photography events and continue to focus on our communication and education strategies.
What do you think sets The Photography Show apart from other photography fairs?
– The Photography Show has a long history of high-quality events showing the best in photography for over 40 years. It has lasting credibility with collectors, both individual and institutional, and a critical mass of high-quality galleries, and is still able to innovate and pivot towards cutting-edge.
Mary Pelletier
This article originally appeared in the AIPAD Catalogue sponsored by MUUS Collection.
The Photography Show presented by AIPAD
April 25 – 28, 2024
Park Avenue Armory
643 Park Ave
New York, NY 10065
www.aipad.com
