MEP Paris shop: experts, researchers, and scholars can find a space dedicated to photography from 1950 to the present day, with a collection of 36,000 references, 4,000 of which published before 1980
Capturing light and vision: the history of Paris Audiovisuel and MEP museums
Aimed at promoting French and foreign photographers, the Paris Audiovisuel association, original name of the MEP, has built up a collection of photographic works since 1978. Founders Jean-Luc Monterosso, Henry Chapier, Marcel Landowski and Francis Balagna worked to promote the art of photography during the Mois de la Photo biennial, created for the occasion. Over time, the collection built up by Paris Audiovisuel has become one of the largest specialized libraries in Europe.
In 1985, the City of Paris offered the association a space to devote to its art. Located near today’s Forum des Images in Paris, the Espace Photo hosted exhibitions curated by Jean-Luc Monterosso. The exhibition space proved too small for Paris Audiovisuel, 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.
Metamorphosis: the evolution of La Maison Européenne de la Photographie
With the change of address, the association also changed its name. La Maison Européenne de la Photographie was born. The new space allowed for a larger lens. Founder Jean-Luc Monterosso unified exhibition spaces, a library, a bookshop, and an auditorium 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 came to fruition with the appointment of Simon Baker as the museum’s director in 2018. He made the decision to keep MEP’s core mission, but with a greater diversity of creation and nationalities.
MEP’s Studio for emerging talent in photography
In 2019, the museum created the Studio, a space located on the second floor of the museum. According to the management of MEP, the Studio is a place reserved for emerging talent – a program of monographic exhibitions featuring new faces on the contemporary scene. The Studio also supports the production of photographic and video works, publishing projects and promotes collaborating with foreign institutions, to contribute to the emergence of artists on the international scene.
The library of the Museum of European Photography (MEP) in Paris
MEP visitors can also discover the museum’s library. In this space, photography enthusiasts, experts, researchers, students, and scholars can explore the world of photography from 1950 to the present day. The bookshop covers four-hundred linear meters devoted to photography. The collection includes 36,000 references, 4,000 of which were published before 1980. Visitors can also discover a selection of over eight-hundred films dedicated to photography in the library’s video section.
MEP’s expanded bookshop: a photographic archive with a changing selection
The reinvention of the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in 2019 also involved its bookshop. With three times the surface area space, the MEP bookshop offers a selection of references dedicated to photography. Periodically, artist signings and events with publishers take place.
According to the bookshop’s deputy manager, Edith Guinard, the library is estimated to hold around 2,000 books. The MEP store also sells museum-sponsored editions dedicated to young emerging artists, often exhibited in the Studio. «We want to present the work of our artists alongside other names in photography».
Edith Guinard also discloses the set-up of the bookshop, including a section changing every four months. This section features a distributor of both French and foreign art books. Currently, the MEP bookshop is home to Amsterdam-based distributor Idea Books. Another small space is dedicated to the publishing house Punto e basta. Photo prints are also available in the same area of the bookshop. Currently, the works of artists exhibited at the Studio are presented for sale.
The MEP’s exhibition program: I See You by Rineke Dijkstra
Today, MEP offers three exhibition seasons a year. On the two floors of the main galleries, the work of a known French or international artist is presented, while the Studio two exhibitions are dedicated to emerging artists. Currently, the museum is exhibiting Rineke Dijkstra and Maya Rochat until October 31, 2023.
I See You, the video and photographic exhibition by Dutch artist Rineke Dijkstra, is shown for the first time in Paris. The artist, known for art of portraiture through video shots, illustrates the passage of time, life experiences and questions the relationship with childhood and adolescence. Through her work, Dijkstra takes a look at the relationship between the passage of time and the construction of individual identity. Her models are young girls approaching adolescence, a crucial moment in the development of identity.
Maya Rochat’s ‘Poetry of the Earth’: a multidisciplinary exploration of nature and humanity
For her first institutional exhibition in France, Swiss visual artist Maya Rochat takes 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.
The artist plays with superimposed images, textures, and shapes. Her works are also displayed in the gallery space in the form of immersive installations and video projections. Maya Rochat wishes to engage in poetic reflection on beauty and nature. She questions the place of humans in their environment, evoking the destructive relationship they can have with their planet. Maya Rochat intervenes on representations of a world in crisis, which she wishes to restore.
Exploring Society and Beyond: MEP’s upcoming exhibition featuring Viviane Sassen
The Studio also invites the public to discover societal observations through fashion in the work of British videographer and photographer Rachel Fleminger Hudson.
These three artists seem to define the essence of the MEP as it is intended by the museum’s management. An invitation to question our relationship with society and its evolution, with the environment and with adolescence. Themes that allow us to better discover the artists presented during this cycle.
From October 18, 2023 to February 2024, the MEP invites the public to discover the works of Viviane Sassen. A multidisciplinary exhibition featuring photography, collage, and video. Specializing in fashion, the artist opens up her universe to the public. Viviane Sassen aims to open up the horizon of photography. A book of over 400 pages, combining essays and photographs, will be published concurrently with the exhibition.
Maison Européenne de Photographie in Paris (MEP)
Based in the former Hénault de Cantobre hotel, the MEP has become a reference in the world of photography and contemporary European art. The museum is currently welcoming Rineke Dijkstra’s I See You and Maya Rochat’s Poetry of the Earth exhibitions in its galleries. The MEP Studio welcomes photographer Rachel Fleminger Hudson.
