Programs
The programs section presents new exhibitions, awards and an extensive talks program, all of which showcase the diversity and latest developments of the photography and digital art world. This section brings together leading international figures from across the art world, including artists, curators and collectors.
Insights
© 2024 Insights Installation Shot
Launched in 2016, Insights is an exhibition focusing on a particular theme or an important moment in the development of photography. Each year PHOTOFAIRS Shanghai commissions a curator to offer a new perspective on photography.
For this year’s Insights sector, entitled Softness, three galleries from the United States are brought together by PHOTOFAIRS New York Director Helen Toomer to present innovative and multidisciplinary works united by themes of malleability and softness. Ranging from portraits focusing on the delicate forms of the human body and the tenderness of interpersonal interactions, to landscapes highlighting the gentle beauty of the fauna and flora, the exhibition evokes ‘the power of art to bring comfort and reprieve through a multi-sensory experience’.
Previous exhibitions include “Listen, Listen to the World”, curated by independent curator Yang Zi and supported by Insights lead partner The New York Times Life and Arts China(2023), “Imaging Our Futures”, curated by He Yining (2021), “Fieldwork”, curated by Deputy Director of Para Site (Hong Kong) Claire Shea (2019), and “The Same But Also Changed”, curated by Victor Wang (2018).
SPECTRUM
© 2024 Culture Spaces Installation Shot
Since its founding in 2014, PHOTOFAIRS Shanghai 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. Launched in 2023, Spectrum sector further highlights the important role of museums, institutions, and cultural organisations in the development of photographic art.
DIALOGUES
Dialogues is a series of talks between artists, curators, gallerists and arts professionals that bring an in-depth look at key themes and ideas shaping photography and digital art today.
Guests for the previous edition included Isabella Tam (Associate Curator at M+ Hong Kong), Lisa Springer (Photography Curator V&A), Wang Jun (collector), Yang Fudong (artist), Wang Bing (artist), Gu Zheng (critic), among others.