The Photography Show presented by AIPAD announced its programming for the 45th edition of the fair. Anchored by AIPAD Talks, the series will commence on Thursday, April 24, at 1PM when this year’s AIPAD Award winner, Deborah Willis, University Professor and Chair of the Department of Photography & Imaging at Tisch School of the Arts, New York University, will be in conversation with Brendan Embser, Senior Editor at Aperture.
AIPAD Talks will take place over the four public days of The Photography Show in the famed Veterans Room designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany, from Thursday to Sunday. Highlights include Interventions in Photography, with artists David Alekhuogie, Gail Albert Halaban and Aundre Larrow in conversation, moderated by Elise Swopes, Founder, Sunrise Art Club + Night on the Yard, to discuss the varied techniques, tools and interventions photographers are using today throughout the creative process—whether classic darkroom edits or experimental mixed media and AI-assisted workflows—that continue to push photography into new territory; photographer and visual artist Laurie Simmons joins Drew Sawyer, Sondra Gilman Curator of Photography at the Whitney Museum of American Art and co-curator of the 2026 Whitney Biennial, for a dynamic conversation tracing the evolution of her practice and the ideas driving her work today; America at 250/Divergent Realities: Photography and Documentation, featuring Stephanie Tung, The Byrne Family Curator of Photography, Peabody Essex Museum; Makeda Best, Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs, Oakland Museum of Contemporary Art; and Jami Powell, Associate Director for Curatorial Affairs and Curator of Indigenous Art at the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College, in conversation to explore how photography has shaped and complicated the ways we document, remember and challenge canonical American history and how images both preserve national memory and challenge dominant narratives; and From Concept to Feature: Creative Directors on the Power of Photography, featuring leading creative directors Matteo Mobilio of WSJ Magazine, Samantha Adler of Cosmopolitan and Noelle Lacombe of The Cut in conversation moderated by CNN Senior Style Reporter Rachel Tashjian to to explore the editorial process from initial concept to final spread, unpacking how image-making decisions reflect, challenge and ultimately influence the way we see the world.
“This year’s AIPAD Talks program highlights photography’s power to question history, shape identity and inspire new ways of seeing,” said Lydia Melamed Johnson, Executive Director of AIPAD and The Photography Show. “From groundbreaking artists to visionary curators and scholars, these conversations reflect the depth, diversity and dynamism that define the photographic community today.”
The five shortlisted artists for the 2026 Aperture Portfolio Prize will be featured at The Photography Show in a special exhibition space as part of the Photobook + Partners Sector. An international competition, the Aperture Portfolio Prize aims to identify trends in contemporary photography and highlight artists whose work deserves greater recognition. Past and recent winners include Alana Perino, Avion Pierce, Vân-Nhi Nguyễn and Felipe Romero Beltrán. On April 24, from 5PM-7PM, AIPAD, in partnership with The International Center of Photography (ICP), will host Night of Photography. The event will feature a robust program of artist talks hosted in different exhibitor booths, book signings and an open bar with the price of admission, creating an evening of interactions with the foremost photographers of the day.
2026 AIPAD Programming Schedule Thursday, April 23
1PM
AIPAD Award Winner: Deborah Willis
2026 AIPAD Award Winner, artist, scholar and curator Deborah Willis joins Brendan Embser, Senior Editor at Aperture, for a wide‑ranging conversation about her extraordinary impact on photography through her research, mentorship and artistic vision. Together, they reflect on how Willis has shaped dialogues around race, representation and history and how her work continues to inspire new ways of seeing and imagining.
2:30PM
Gerhard Steidl in Conversation with Clark Winter
Gerhard Steidl, founder and publisher of renowned publishing house Steidl, will be in conversation with photographer Clark Winter on the subject of Robert Frank’s enduring legacy and the role that photobooks have played in establishing it. The conversation will touch on AIPAD member gallery Alta’s presentation Free Air and Beyond, a celebration of the long collaboration between Steidl and Frank. At the heart of the exhibition is a curated selection of Frank’s pioneering photographs, shown in dialogue with works by Winter from his forthcoming book Free Air, to be published by Steidl in May 2026, alongside a Steidl presentation structured around Frank’s groundbreaking book Story Lines.
4PM
Interventions in Photography Presented by ADOBE
From capture to post, every photograph is shaped by creative decisions. This panel looks at the varied techniques, tools and interventions photographers are using today throughout the creative process—whether classic darkroom edits or experimental mixed media and AI-assisted workflows—that continue to push photography into new territory. Featuring a range of creative industry experts and artists working in lens-based media, the conversation will examine themes of experimentation, authorship and diverse visual languages. Artists David Alekhuogie and Gail Albert Halaban will be in conversation with fellow artist and Adobe Ambassador Aundre Larrow, moderated by Elise Swopes, Founder, Sunrise Art Club + Night on the Yard.
Friday, April 24
1PM
Bridge to Asia: Asian Photography in Global Circulation
This conversation brings together scholars and curators to explore how photographers from East Asia have been gaining new global visibility. From pioneering research and emerging institutions to innovative platforms like T3 Photo Asia, the panel maps the networks reshaping how East Asian photography enters—and transforms—the global photographic landscape. Jeehey Kim, Associate Professor of Art History at the University of Arizona, will be in conversation with Jeong Eun Kim, Director, T3 Photo Fair Asia, moderated by Maggie Mustard, Assistant Curator of Photography, The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints & Photographs, The New York Public Library.
1PM
ICP Infinity Award Series: Tarrah Krajnak in Conversation
(held in the Colonel’s Reception Room)
Tarrah Krajnak, winner of the 2026 ICP Infinity Award for Photographic Art and New Media, is joined in conversation by Sara Ickow, Associate Director of Exhibitions at ICP, alongside artist Paola Martínez Fiterre, to discuss how they relate to their Latin American heritage within performance and art-making.
2:30PM
Laurie Simmons in Conversation with Drew Sawyer
Photographer and visual artist Laurie Simmons joins Drew Sawyer, Sondra Gilman Curator of Photography at the Whitney Museum of American Art and co-curator of the 2026 Whitney Biennial, for a dynamic conversation tracing the evolution of her practice and the ideas driving her work today. Reflecting on their past collaboration, they consider how Simmons’ photography and film continue to challenge notions of identity, fantasy and the constructed image.
3PM
ICP Alumni Group Critique
(held in the Colonel’s Reception Room)
Moderated by ICP faculty member Jason Fulford, this public program invites two ICP alumni to present a recent body of work for a live group critique with fellow alumni. Using a structured critique process, participants will discuss image selection, sequencing and the evolving direction of each project, offering insight into how photographers refine and shape their work. The public audience is welcome to watch from seating in the room.
4PM
America at 250/Divergent Realities: Photography and Documentation
As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, this panel explores how photography has shaped and complicated the ways we document, remember and challenge canonical American history and how images both preserve national memory and complicate dominant narratives, revealing multiple and sometimes conflicting versions of the American story. The conversation will feature Stephanie Tung, The Byrne Family Curator of Photography, Peabody Essex Museum; Makeda Best, Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs, Oakland Museum of Contemporary Art; and Jami Powell, Associate Director for Curatorial Affairs and Curator of Indigenous Art at the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College.
5PM-7PM
Night of Photography: Presented with ICP
From 5-7PM a robust program of artist talks hosted in different exhibitor booths, along with book signings and an open bar, Night of Photography is a vibrant evening bringing together artists, collectors, publishers and gallerists.
5:30PM
Photojournalism: Witness + Vision
Photographers Giles Clarke, Ashley Gilbertson and Shelby Lee Adams join moderator Rick Smolan for a conversation on the evolving role of photojournalism and documentary practice today. Reflecting on the power and responsibility of the image, the panel considers how personal vision, ethics and context shape the stories photographers tell—and how those stories resonate in an age of constant visual exchange.
Saturday, April 25
1PM
Twenty Years of the Portfolio Prize: The 2026 Shortlist in Conversation
Aperture associate editor Noa Lin will moderate a conversation between the group of artists selected for the 2026 Portfolio Prize shortlist. 2026 marks the 20th annual Aperture Portfolio Prize, representing two decades of discovering, exhibiting and publishing a broad and exciting range of styles by artists working in the medium of photography.
2:30PM
Rosalind Fox Solomon: What is Life?
Presented by Lead Cultural Partner MUUS Collection
Gathering together colleagues, friends and editors, this discussion will explore Rosalind Fox Solomon’s life and work. With MUUS Collection advisor Richard Grosbard in conversation with Aperture Editor-in-Chief Michael Famighetti and Solomon’s former studio manager Marion Misilim, moderated by Sophie Wright, the Executive Director of MUUS Collection, the conversation will complement the archival material on view at the fair at MUUS Collection’s stand.
4PM
From Concept to Feature: Creative Directors on the Power of Photography
The next generation of leading Creative Directors gather to discuss the power of photography and its role in shaping cultural conversation. Matteo Mobilio of WSJ Magazine, Samantha Adler of Cosmopolitan and Noelle Lacombe of The Cut represent a new wave of visual tastemakers redefining how stories are told across the pages of today’s most iconic publications. Together, they will explore the editorial process from initial concept to final spread, unpacking how image-making decisions reflect, challenge and ultimately influence the way we see the world.
Moderated by CNN Senior Style Reporter Rachel Tashjian, this conversation promises a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the creative vision driving some of the most compelling photography in magazines today.
Sunday, April 26
12PM
Sculptural Photography
Artists Lou Peralta, Fabiola Menchelli and Spandita Malik come together to discuss how photography extends beyond the flat image into sculptural, tactile and spatial forms. Moderated by Stephen Frailey of Dear Dave, magazine the conversation will explore their experiments with materiality, process and installation and the ways their work transforms how photographs can occupy space and how reimagining the photograph as object opens new dimensions for storytelling and perception.
1:30PM
Portraiture and Fluidity
Canadian photographers JJ Levine and Wynne Neilly will be in conversation with Andrea Kunard, Senior Curator of Photographs, National Gallery of Canada, to discuss how the self is staged, negotiated and expressed in front of the camera. Drawing on their explorations of gender and intimacy, the artists will discuss how portraiture can affirm identity and what it means to construct a personal image in an era of constant self-documentation. This AIPAD Talk invites audiences to consider how posing, performance and collaboration between sitter and photographer open up new possibilities for seeing—and being seen. Supported by the Department of Canadian Heritage.
3PM
Convergence and Camouflage: Artists Obscuring the Self
The obscured self-portrait: whether by intervention, costume or camouflage, how do assimilation and legacies of political strife illuminate the motivations that inspire contemporary artists Gina Osterloh, Cecilia Paredes and Pipo Nguyen-duy to create their photographic works? What drives these artists to create their mysterious tableaus? Osterloh, Paredes and Nguyen-duy will be in conversation, moderated by Paulina Choh, Marcia Brady Tucker Fellow in Photography at Yale University Art Gallery.
Influence with Stephen Frailey of Dear Dave, Magazine
Stephen Frailey, editor of Dear Dave, magazine will be in conversation with photographers about their work and its relationship to the medium, with a particular emphasis on their influences, whether they be visual, literary, experiential or otherwise. For the third edition of the series the conversations will also feature collectors and will delve into how they build their collections and what influences them in doing so. The series will be hosted in the Talks room and broadcast over Instagram live. This year’s program will feature Joan Lyons and Rania Matar, among others.
Dear Dave, magazine is a print publication of photography and writing, founded in 2007. Dear Dave, also supports monthly online reviews on photography exhibitions on its website, as well as the annual Dear Dave, fellowship to emerging photographers.
Aperture Portfolio Prize
The Aperture Portfolio Prize is an international competition founded in 2006 that aims to identify trends in contemporary photography and highlight artists whose work deserves greater recognition. When choosing the first-prize winner and shortlist, the judges look for innovative bodies of work that have not been widely seen in major publications or exhibition venues. The 2026 Aperture Portfolio Prize is supported by MPB. Production for the presentation on view at AIPAD courtesy of WhiteWall.
“The Aperture Portfolio Prize has a distinguished history of recognizing rising talents and supporting artists at a critical point in their careers,” says Michael Famighetti, Editor-in-Chief at Aperture. “This year, thanks to our alliance with AIPAD, we welcome the expanded visibility for the five shortlisted artists by presenting their work not only with our audiences, but in an installation to more deeply connect with the engaged viewers at the fair.”
Night of Photography Presented with ICP
AIPAD, in partnership with The International Center of Photography (ICP), will host Night of Photography on Friday, April 24 from 5PM-7PM. Featuring a robust program of artist talks hosted in different exhibitor booths, along with book signings and an open bar, Night of Photography is a vibrant evening bringing together artists, collectors, publishers and gallerists. ICP will also be hosting alumni, faculty, members and friends.
Focal Point Sector
AIPAD is excited to introduce Focal Point, a new solo presentation sector for The Photography Show 2026. Focal Point will highlight galleries and artists focused on lens-based photography and is designed to showcase how artists have historically expanded our collective understanding of what photography is and how contemporary artists continue to show us what it can become. Designed in a dynamic layout to create fresh sightlines and conversations by Oficina.la, the renowned woman-led Mexico City and Los Angeles based architecture firm, Focal Point is a revelatory way to exhibit powerful ideas and artistic practices in the iconic Park Avenue Armory. By promoting singular and vital voices in an inventive way, AIPAD affirms its commitment to supporting the next generation of galleries and photographers, while offering collectors, curators and the public the opportunity to discover the individuals who are shaping both the past, present and the future of the medium.
About AIPAD
Organized in 1979, AIPAD, with its global membership across six continents, is the collective expert voice for fine art photography dealers. Through its acclaimed education initiative, AIPAD Talks, and its flagship event, The Photography Show, the organization enhances the confidence of the public, museums, institutions and others in responsible fine art photography collecting. Presented by AIPAD, The Photography Show is the longest-running exhibition dedicated to the photographic medium in the world.
The Photography Show Presented by AIPAD
April 22-26, 2026
VIP Opening Wednesday, April 22, 2026
The Park Avenue Armory
643 Park Avenue, New York
https://www.aipad.com/show
