Photo basel is Switzerland’s first and only international art fair dedicated to photography-based art. photo basel brings together galleries from around the world in a unique, authentic setting and sees itself as an integrative and hybrid platform that connects all actors of the art world (online and IRL).

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As a fair, we want to actively contribute to this dialogue and make art photography even more accessible. To achieve this, photo basel has put together a varied supporting program alongside 41 international galleries (coming from 15 countries) for this year's 9th edition.

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Since 2016, photo basel is located in the immediate proximity of Art Basel, situated in the beautiful compound of the Volkshaus Basel. Volkshaus Basel is a building softly renovated by acclaimed Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron. Volkshaus is located at Rebgasse 12, just 700 meters from the Art Basel exhibition center.

photo basel welcomes 41 galleries from 15 countries to its ninth edition. Over 450 photographic positions (artworks) by 150 artists are on show. photo basel is delighted to count among this year's new galleries Anita Beckers (Frankfurt am Main), Doyle Wham (London), In The Gallery (Copenhagen & Palma de Mallorca), inside-out gallery (Brussels), nüüd.gallery (Berlin), POLARWIND (Zürich), SmithDavidson Gallery(Amsterdam, Mexico City & Miami), N.Smith Gallery (Paddington/Australia) AN INC. (Seoul) as well as Window Fourteen (Geneva).

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Eyewitness: Kurt Wyss in dialogue with Jean Dubuffet

In this year's edition, photo basel is dedicating a special exhibition to Basel photographer Kurt Wyss (*1936). With "Eyewitness Kurt Wyss in Dialogue with Jean Dubuffet" we are presenting an insight into an important phase of his photographic work. Kurt Wyss first photographed the French painter and sculptor Jean Dubuffet (1901-1984) in 1970, and their wonderful long-term collaboration lasted until Dubuffet's death in 1984. Whether working on a model, absorbed in thought or surrounded by drawings, the portraits of Jean Dubuffet taken by Kurt Wyss show the artist in the intimate surroundings of his studio. Wyss was not interested in depicting the artist gloriously posing next to his works; rather, he wanted to show the person and the ideas behind the works. His portraits exude intimacy and authenticity, while capturing the essence of his model in a subtle yet powerful way.

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beyond photography

This sector was already celebrated euphorically at the fair 2023. We are now taking this as an opportunity to relaunch this unique sector in 2024 as well. «Beyond Photography» is a curated selection of photographic positions that - as the name suggests - go far beyond photography with the use of various mixing techniques, special printing techniques or a shift from the two-dimensional into the three-dimensional - numerous different approaches contribute to an expansion of the medium of photography – and this sector is dedicated to it.
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spotlight africa For the first time, four of the 41 galleries are showing works exclusively by African artists. This was reason enough for us to give these outstanding artists a special position in the form of their own sector. Contemporary African photography promotes intercultural dialog and functions as an eminently important instrument of self-expression. From documentary photographs that capture everyday life to almost abstract works that offer new perspectives, African photography perfectly reflects the richness and diversity of the African continent and the diaspora. With « Spotlight Africa», photo basel aims to promote the visibility of contemporary African photography and explicitly put these positions in the spotlight.

The works by Cameroonian artist Angèle Etoundi Essamba (Doyle Wham, London), for example, show the complex cultural identities of modern African women by attempting to deconstruct and skillfully break stereotypes.

The digital portraits by Ghanaian artist Derrick Ofosu Boateng (InsideOut, Brussels) in turn have something fresh, unique and authentic about them. The works are characterized by saturated and contrasting colors, striking poses and whimsically placed objects, giving the young African generation an expressive voice. Derrick is considered a pioneer of mobile photography, his works are a mixture of images taken with an iPhone and digital retouching.

Lee-Ann Olwage (The Bridge Gallery, Paris) is a visual artist from South Africa who explores themes related to gender and identity through collaborative storytelling.

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novum

In the newly created «novum» sector, photo basel is specifically showing works that have never been shown before. The «novum» positions can either be completely new works - created especially for photo basel - or bodies of works that have not yet made it into the light of day because they have only now been properly discovered or rediscovered. These works have one thing in common, namely that they have never been exhibited or shown before and are therefore being presented to the photo basel public for the very first time, as a premiere. Furthermore, photo basel deliberately refrains from presenting these works in advance (not online, not on our social media platforms, not in the press). We are excited to show our audience these very special works exclusively at the fair only. We apologize in advance for this appropriate secrecy – trust us, it is worth it.

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photo basel

Basel Switzerland

June 11, 2024 _ June 16, 2024

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