MIA Photo Fair BNP Paribas Kicks Off, Spotlight on Photography

MIA Photo Fair BNP Paribas raises the curtain on its 14th edition, confirming its status as one of Italy’s leading photography events. Led for the second year by Francesca Malgara, the fair revolves around the theme “Dialogues”, an exploration of connections between different worldviews, intertwining past and present, traditional and modern photographic techniques, and creating spaces for reflection on the multiple forms of reality. A bold and ambitious project, supported by the Municipality of Milan and, for the first time, with BNL BNP Paribas as title sponsor and Deloitte as main sponsor.

The exhibition takes place at Superstudio Più, featuring 77 galleries—56 from Italy and 21 from abroad—alongside 37 additional exhibitors, including publishers, special projects, and institutions, bringing the total number of exhibitors to 114. The fair is structured into four main sections: the Main Section and three curated thematic sectors: Beyond Photography – Dialogue, Reportage Beyond Reportage, and FOCUS. Completing the lineup is the editorial section.

The official opening of the event—designed to celebrate the transformative power of photography and to support high-quality collecting in Italy—took place the other evening in Via Tortona with an exclusive invitation-only cocktail reception. Among the distinguished guests were Milan’s mayor Beppe Sala, Mario Calabresi, Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Piero Lissoni, Fabio Castelli, Dennis Curti, gallerists Antonia Jannone and Michael Hoppen, and renowned photographers Aurelio Amendola, Maurizio Galimberti, Peter Chelsom, Stefano Babic, Erik Kessels, Veronica Gaido, and Jan C. Schlegel. The fair runs until March 23rd.

Photo: Ludovica Arcero
Text: Germano D’Acquisto