Mia Photo Fair 2026

From 19 to 22 March 2026, Milan once again becomes one of the most vibrant hubs for contemporary photography with MIA Photo Fair BNP Paribas, Italy’s leading fair dedicated to the photographic image.

Hosted at Superstudio Più, the event brings together more than one hundred exhibitors including galleries, institutions and special projects, creating a journey that moves across different languages, generations and visions of photography.

To explore the meaning of this edition and the role of photography today, we spoke with Francesca Malgara, Artistic Director of MIA Photo Fair BNP Paribas and a key figure in the Italian photography scene.

MIA Photo Fair BNP Paribas transforms Milan into a city of events dedicated to photography. How important is it for a fair to interact with and engage the city through projects such as the MIA Photo Fair BNP Paribas OFF Circuit?
 
Today, it is essential for a fair to extend beyond its physical boundaries and engage with the city. A project like the MIA Photo Fair BNP Paribas OFF Circuit allows Milan to become a widespread platform dedicated to photography, involving galleries, foundations, independent spaces, and unconventional venues. This kind of cross-pollination creates a broader cultural ecosystem: the public does not experience photography only within the fair itself, but encounters it while moving through the city. In this way, the event becomes a true urban cultural engine, capable of activating new collaborations, expanding audiences, and strengthening the connection between the artistic scene and the local territory.
 

We live in an era in which we produce and consume images in quantities never seen before. In this context, what role do you think a fair like MIA Photo Fair BNP Paribas can play in redefining the value and quality of the photographic gaze?
 
We are living in a historical moment in which the production of images is virtually infinite. Precisely for this reason, the role of cultural institutions in creating context, selection and quality becomes increasingly important. A fair such as MIA Photo Fair BNP Paribas has the responsibility to offer a curatorial perspective, bringing together artists, galleries, collectors and audiences while highlighting projects that reflect on photography as an artistic and cultural language.
 
Our task is not only to present works but also to educate the gaze, offering tools to distinguish between the mere production of images and genuine photographic research. In this sense, the fair becomes a place of encounter and reflection, where photography is restored to its most conscious, critical and cultural dimension.

The SENATO BLOW(N) UP project, with a single photograph enlarged to monumental scale, seems to go almost against the contemporary logic of rapid image consumption. Is it a provocation toward the way we look at photography today?

The SENATO BLOW(N) UP project was born precisely from a reflection on our relationship with images. Today we are used to scrolling through them quickly on our screens, consuming them in just a few seconds. Enlarging a single photograph to monumental dimensions means slowing down that process and inviting the viewer to pause and observe more carefully.
In this sense, yes, it can also be read as a provocation. It is a way of reaffirming that photography is not only a continuous stream of images, but can still be a space for contemplation, detail and depth.

What to expect from Mia Photo Fair 2026

The theme chosen for this fifteenth edition is Metamorphosis, an invitation to reflect on the constant transformation of images and on how photographic language evolves alongside society, technology and the gaze of those who observe it.

As every year, the fair extends beyond the exhibition halls through the OFF Circuit, a constellation of exhibitions and interventions spread across the city, bringing photography into Milan and into some of its most unexpected spaces.

MIA Photo Fair
BNP Paribas
19–22 March 2026

Superstudio Più
Via Tortona 27, Milano
Miafairbnpparibas