MIA Photo Fair, now in its 14th edition, will be held from the 20th to 23rd of March 2025 at Superstudio Più in Milan. The curatorial team of the Italian fair dedicated to photography (this year’s full diction is MIA Photo Fair BNP Paribas) has selected 77 galleries. In addition, there are 37 exhibitors from the fields of publishing, special projects and institutions, bringing the total number of exhibitors to 114, many of them from abroad.
These are the numbers of the event, which should be attended both because it gives the pulse of the economic side of photography and because it is an opportunity to see photography (which is always important for rediscovering historical authors and researching emerging ones). As a fair, it has the mission and the undeniable merit of concentrating a large number of photographic images in a defined space and time. It is also an opportunity to exchange ideas with authors and gallery owners.
In short, it is not just about looking at photographs hanging on the walls, but about being able to engage in a dialogue with those who created them and those who deal with them at the gallery level. And what better opportunity than this 14th edition, where the theme is precisely “Dialogues.” As expected, the opportunities offered by the MIA Photo Fair are indeed numerous and it will be difficult not to miss anything. For this reason, we are providing you with a kind of general map that summarises the various events (however, we recommend that you take a closer look at the website of MIA Photo Fair in order to optimise your visit).
In the spaces of Superstudio Più, Dialogues unfolds among the five sections: Main Section; Beyond Photography – Dialogue; Reportage Beyond Reportage; Focus Switzerland and Publishing. As for awards, new ones have been added to those that have been accompanying MIA Photo Fair since the beginning. The 2025 edition includes the BNL BNP Paribas Award (it’s the longest-running prize among those promoted by the Fair. It is dedicated to the best artist selected among those presented at the event); the Irinox Save The Food Award (now in its fourth edition, it celebrates the connection between photography and food sustainability); the Off-Wall Award, curated by Erik Kessels); the miramArt Award; the Premio Bdc La Nuova Scelta Italiana (awarded every year to two Italian photographers who have represented contemporary issues with an original language), the Fiere di Parma Acquisition Fund (an initiative that combines culture and collecting). Finally, the Image Media Excellence Award and The Molinario Colombari House Museum Award – Visual Dialogues (1st edition) (this prize is awarded to a gallery whose exhibition design creates a harmonious dialogue between the works, the artists and the exhibition space, and encourages reflection on the plurality of artistic languages.
There are also several Institutional Sections, like The Glass Giants, Bugnon Foundation, Sella Foundation, The Rooms of Photography, Francesca Rava Foundation – NPH Italy ETS. PhMuseum – Portofino Residencies 2021 – 2024 and Special projects outside the Fair. The cultural program is quite rich (https://www.miafairbnpparibas.it/en/programma-culturale/ ) and includes talks, workshops, exhibitions, book signings, award and editorial presentations).
Returning to the Sections, the Main Section explores the theme of Dialogues, encompassing conversations between artists and the public, diverse cultures, historical and contemporary photography, as well as interactions with other conventional art forms and new technologies. Beyond Photography – Dialogue, curated by Domenico de Chirico, is now in its sixth edition and continues its mission towards the most fertile territories of freedom of expression and unparalleled universality, thus offering a new way to explore new ideas and encourage critical reflection. The Reportage Beyond Reportage section, curated by Emanuela Mazzonis di Pralafera, invites on a visual journey through the images by photographers of different generations and nationalities. At a time when we have become accustomed to images, it is difficult to value what we look at. As the curator says, Susan Sontag wrote in her essay ‘On Photography’ (1977) that to photograph means appropriating what you photograph. Today we have to relearn how to appropriate the subject. The Focus section of MIA Photo Fair 2025, curated by Rischa Paterlini, puts the spotlight on Switzerland, continuing the fair’s tradition of highlighting a foreign country. In keeping with the fair’s theme, Dialogues, this section aims to connect Swiss galleries and artists with international figures, exploring how the Swiss cultural context influences and inspires contemporary photographic practices.
The event, organized by Fiere di Parma and directed for the second year by Francesca Malgara, with the patronage of the Municipality of Milan, marks the first year of support from BNL BNP Paribas as title sponsor and Deloitte as main sponsor.
Paola Samartano
MIA Photo Fair BNP Paribas
March 20-23, 2025
Superstudio Più
via Tortona 27
20144 Milan
Italy
www.miafairbnpparibas.it
