Maison Européenne de la Photography

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Maison Européenne de la Photography

The Maison Européenne de la Photographie (MEP for short) is a center for contemporary photography that opened its doors to a wide audience in February 1996 in the Marais , the historic heart of Paris .

Place and activities

The Hôtel Henault was built in 1706 for the humanist Hénault de Cantobre and has housed the Maison Européenne de la Photographie at Rue de Fourcy 5/7 since 1985 , which was launched in 1978 by the former French association "Paris Audiovisuel - Maison Européenne de la Photographie" Presidents Jacques Chirac , Henry Chapier and the financial support of the Paris City Council. The building has been owned by the Paris city council since 1914. In 1991 she commissioned the architecture firm of Yves Lion with the restoration of the original building and an extension of the new wing facing Rue de Fourcy. The side facing the street forms an example of classical architecture with the historic ironworks and the central staircase.

The MEP consists of an exhibition section, a large library, an auditorium and a video room with a large selection of films. Visitors can also visit the café under the vault or the bookstore. The MEP was founded with the aim of making the three basic photographic media (exhibition prints, book pages and film) easily accessible. It offers a variety of commented tours, conferences and film cycles related to the exhibitions. The hotel is also home to a workshop for photographic restoration and conservation ( Atelier de Restauration et de Conservation des Photographies de la Ville de Paris , or ARCP). Since 1983 the photographic legacy of the libraries, archives and museums of Paris has been housed there and is made available to other French and international institutions.

The collection is dedicated to contemporary work. She owns about 20,000 works of art, mainly photographs ( silver gelatin like digital photography) and video works. The library gathers 24,000 books on photography, artist books, and technical and theoretical volumes, as well as Rara. Three out of four exhibition cycles are planned each year, which thematically deal with artists or movements that are thematic in the second half of the 2nd century and the 21st century.

The MEP has been under the artistic direction of the British art historian Simon Baker since 2018.

Exhibitions (selection)

Web links

Commons : Maison européenne de la photographie  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Le Projet. Maison Européenne de la Photographie, accessed on April 2, 2020 (French).
  2. ^ Projet Maison Européenne de la Photographie (1991-1996). Retrieved April 2, 2020 (French).

Coordinates: 48 ° 51 '18.4 "  N , 2 ° 21' 32.3"  E