MEP, Maison Européenne de la Photographie: a space devoted to photography since 1978
The MEP Paris bookshop and library: researchers, students and scholars find a space dedicated to photography from 1950 to the present day, with a collection of 36,000 references, 4,000 of them published before 1980
Paris Audiovisuel and the origins of the MEP
Aimed at promoting French and foreign photographers, the Paris Audiovisuel association, the original name of the MEP, built up a collection of photographic works from 1978. Founders Jean-Luc Monterosso, Henry Chapier, Marcel Landowski and Francis Balagna worked to promote photography during the Mois de la Photo biennial, created for the occasion. Over time, the collection assembled by Paris Audiovisuel became one of the largest specialized libraries in Europe.
In 1985, the City of Paris offered the association a space. Located near today’s Forum des Images, the Espace Photo hosted exhibitions curated by Monterosso. The exhibition space proved too small, and the association moved to 5-7 Rue de Fourcy, in the former Hénault de Cantobre mansion in the Saint-Paul district. The restoration of the building was entrusted to the architect Yves Lion.
From Espace Photo to Maison Européenne de la Photographie
With the change of address, the association changed its name. La Maison Européenne de la Photographie was born. Monterosso brought exhibition spaces, a library, a bookshop and an auditorium together within the MEP.
Over the years, the MEP has become a space for a younger public, attracted by experimental practices, both for artists and visitors. This change followed the appointment of Simon Baker as the museum’s director in 2018. Baker kept the MEP’s core mission while widening the range of practices and nationalities on show.
The MEP Studio and emerging photography
In 2019, the museum created the Studio, a space on the second floor. According to the management of the MEP, the Studio is reserved for emerging practitioners, with a program of monographic exhibitions. The Studio also supports the production of photographic and video works and publishing projects, and collaborates with foreign institutions.
The MEP library in Paris: 36,000 references on photography
MEP visitors can also use the museum’s library. In this space, researchers, students and scholars consult photography from 1950 to the present day. The library covers four hundred linear meters devoted to photography. The collection includes 36,000 references, 4,000 of them published before 1980. The video section holds a selection of over eight hundred films dedicated to photography.
The MEP bookshop: a photographic archive with a changing selection
The reconfiguration of the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in 2019 also involved its bookshop. With three times the surface area, the MEP bookshop offers a selection of references dedicated to photography. Artist signings and events with publishers take place periodically.
According to the bookshop’s deputy manager, Edith Guinard, the shop holds around 2,000 books. The MEP store also sells museum-sponsored editions dedicated to emerging artists, often exhibited in the Studio. «We want to present the work of our artists alongside other names in photography».
Guinard describes the set-up of the bookshop, including a section that changes every four months. This section features a distributor of French and foreign art books; at the time of reporting it housed the Amsterdam-based distributor Idea Books. Another space is dedicated to the publishing house Punto e basta. Photo prints are available in the same area, including works by artists exhibited at the Studio.
The MEP exhibition program: I See You by Rineke Dijkstra
The MEP presents three exhibition seasons a year. On the two floors of the main galleries, the work of a French or international artist is presented, while the Studio holds two exhibitions dedicated to emerging artists. In 2023 the museum exhibited Rineke Dijkstra and Maya Rochat until October 31.
I See You, the video and photographic exhibition by Dutch artist Rineke Dijkstra, was shown for the first time in Paris. Dijkstra works with portraiture through video, addressing the passage of time, life experiences and the relationship with childhood and adolescence. Her subjects are young girls approaching adolescence, a moment in the development of identity.
Maya Rochat’s Poetry of the Earth at the MEP
For her first institutional exhibition in France, Swiss visual artist Maya Rochat took up residence at the MEP with Poetry of the Earth. Her multidisciplinary work combines photography, painting, video, installation and performance. Saturated color works with links to nature and abstract painting.
Rochat works with superimposed images, textures and shapes. The works were displayed in the gallery space as installations and video projections. Rochat questions the place of humans in their environment and the relationship they have with the planet.
Rachel Fleminger Hudson and Viviane Sassen at the MEP Studio
The Studio presented societal observation through fashion in the work of British videographer and photographer Rachel Fleminger Hudson.
From October 18, 2023 to February 2024, the MEP showed the work of Viviane Sassen: photography, collage and video. A book of over 400 pages, combining essays and photographs, was published alongside the exhibition.
Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris (MEP)
Based in the former Hénault de Cantobre mansion, the MEP is dedicated to photography and contemporary European art. Its galleries hosted Rineke Dijkstra’s I See You and Maya Rochat’s Poetry of the Earth, with Rachel Fleminger Hudson in the MEP Studio.
