The Wildest Photography Exhibitions to See This Fall

© Susan Meiselas © Martin Parr Magnum Photos © Agnès b.

November promises a real treat for photography lovers! Alongside Paris Photo, the international photography fair taking place at the Grand Palais from November 12 to 15, and as part of a year celebrating the 200th anniversary of the invention of photography, photo exhibitions are popping up all over the cultural calendar of our beautiful capital. From emerging artists to celebrated masters, there are countless places to explore and expand your visual culture. Festivals, foundations and dozens of galleries: our editorial team has rounded up the must-visit spots. Say “Cheese”!

Photo Days returns from November 2 to 30 for its 7th edition. With fashion designer Agnès b. as its patron this year, the festival offers an incredibly rich programme across the capital. Its main ambition is to create original exhibitions, so there is plenty to get excited about this year, with shows conceived by both emerging artists and internationally renowned photographers. Five artists have been given carte blanche: 5 Days in Moscow, 1987, captured by Agnès b. at the ground floor of her offices, Alexandra Catiere at the Rotonde Balzac, Thomas Klotz at the Chapelle Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, the work of Véronique Ellena at the MAC Créteil, and photographs by Catherine Balet at the Sorbonne Artgallery.

We’re also taking a look at Agnès b.’s personal selection, which offers a glimpse of the programme through her own perspective and artistic affinities. The collaboration continues on November 16 at 6pm, when the designer will join several artists for a round-table discussion on contemporary photography, creativity and passing on knowledge (book your place online). Something to look forward to!

Photo Days, November 2–30. Full programme online.

Galerie Pixi © Elizabeth Lennard / Galerie Jean-François Cazeau © Pierre Jahan / La Fab. © Ryan McGinley

Another festival invites visitors to take a stroll along the Left Bank: Photo Saint-Germain returns for its 15th edition, from November 5 to 28. With a free, open-access itinerary, visitors can wander through the museums, cultural centres, galleries and bookshops of this iconic neighbourhood. Of the 38 exhibitions on offer, start at bookshop 7L, founded by Karl Lagerfeld and now owned by Maison Chanel. 22 Loggerstraat, Zaandam, a project by Noémie Ninot, explores the bonds between three generations of women through a series of staged photographs that are as unsettling as they are moving.

Don’t miss the early photographs by Tina Barney at Zander Galerie: these first experiments offer a glimpse of the large-scale colour compositions for which she is now known. The series India Song by Karen Knorr hangs on the walls of the Musée Delacroix, in direct dialogue with the painter’s bestiary. Meanwhile, at the Musée de Minéralogie, artist Laure Winants explores the interaction of ecosystems through a dialogue between matter and light. It’s also a chance to discover this magnificent cabinet-of-curiosities-style venue, tucked away inside École des Mines. The view over the Jardin du Luxembourg is reason enough to make the trip!

Photo Saint-Germain, November 5–28. Full programme online.

Centre tchèque de Paris © Jindrich Streit / © Laure Winants / Karen Knorr © Galerie Les filles du calvaire

No guide to photography exhibitions would be complete without mentioning the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, which is presenting two fascinating exhibitions until March 7, 2027. Two rooms, two very different atmospheres, perhaps, but one shared story of popular revolt, told through the lenses of two photographers: Martine Franck and Susan Meiselas. The first takes us into the heart of the feminist struggles of the 1970s, centred on women’s freedom to make decisions about their own bodies. Martine Franck documented the demonstrations of the Women’s Liberation Movement and the rise of the feminist press, a true breeding ground for activism. At the time, these images offered a new visual culture, challenging the way women were represented in the media.

Susan Meiselas, meanwhile, takes us to Nicaragua between 1978 and 1979, during the “revolution of the scarves”, led by the Sandinista National Liberation Front against the dictatorship in power. She photographs everyday life, street fighting and the victory of the Revolution: a series of deeply moving images. The photographer continued to return over the following four decades, documenting how her photographs took on lives of their own and how their meaning evolved in the collective memory.

Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson. 79 rue des Archives, Paris 3rd arrondissement. Exhibitions until March 7, 2027. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 11am to 7pm. Full price: €10; reduced price: €6. Tickets online.

© Susan Meiselas © Martine Franck

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