From March 19 to 22, 2026, in the spaces of Superstudio Più in Milan, MIA Photo Fair BNP Paribas, the Italian fair dedicated to photography now in its 15th edition, returns with a program that brings together 111 exhibitors and relates historical and contemporary photography. The event, organized by Fiere di Parma and directed for the third year by Francesca Malgara, is confirmed as one of the main Italian events dedicated to art photography. The selection committee identified 76 galleries, including 27 international and 24 first-time participants, plus institutions, special projects, publishers and media partners. The exhibition is held under the patronage of the City of Milan and with the support of BNL BNP Paribas, main partner since 2012 and title sponsor since 2025, as well as Deloitte, which, with the support of the Deloitte Foundation, has assumed the role of main sponsor since the last edition. The exhibition system builds an articulated dialogue between documentary practices, artistic research and new technologies, outlining a broad and layered panorama.
The theme chosen for 2026 is Metamorphosis, a concept that runs through the entire fair and is declined as a process of transformation of visual languages, identities and modes of image production. The reference to Ovid ’s work introduces a reflection that extends to contemporary times, including both the technical evolution of photography, from film to digital post-production, and the cultural and social transformations that characterize the present.
The 2026 edition has four main sections: the Main Section and three curated sections. Beyond Photography - Dialogue, curated by Domenico de Chirico, explores the relationship between photography and other artistic languages; Beyond Reportage, curated by Emanuela Mazzonis, reflects on the transformations of contemporary documentary photography; and Focus Latino, curated by Rischa Paterlini, offers a selection of artists working on hybrid identities, migration and cultural transformations. The exhibition system is designed to guide visitors through thematic paths that relate different media, approaches and geographical contexts.
Alongside the exhibition sections, the fair offers a comprehensive program of special projects. Among them, Giorgio Galimberti’s reportage Non si diventa grande da soli, presented by BNL BNP Paribas, addresses the theme of urban peripheries and paths to social inclusion. Deloitte Photo Grant exhibits the winning works from the first three editions of the award, while Aon presents an exhibition dedicated to William Wegman’s Polaroids. Eberhard & Co. offers a selection of portraits by Elisabetta Catalano, while Kartell and Portofino Dry Gin develop projects that interweave photography, design and memory. The institutional dimension is represented by institutions such as MUSEC in Lugano, Le Stanze della Fotografia in Venice, Casa Museo Molinario Colombari and Fondazione Sella, which contribute to delineate a parallel exhibition path dedicated to historical and archival research. They are joined by the participation of the Francesca Rava Foundation, with a photographic project focused on Arctic territories and the consequences of climate change.
The fair also includes an extensive awards system, which testifies to the focus on supporting artistic production and collecting. Awards include the BNL BNP Paribas Prize, the Molinario Colombari House Museum Prize, The Collectors.Chain Prize and the Parma Fair Purchase Fund. These are complemented by awards dedicated to the promotion of emerging artists and experimentation, such as the miramART Prize, the Irinox Prize and the Superstudio Photo Award. The cultural program includes meetings, lectures and talks with artists, curators and professionals in the field, as well as in-depth moments dedicated to photographic collecting. In parallel, the OFF Circuit extends the fair into Milan’s urban space through exhibitions and widespread initiatives, strengthening the link between the event and the city context.
“MIA Photo Fair BNP Paribas confirms, year after year, a central appointment in the Milanese cultural calendar and in the national panorama dedicated to photography,” says Tommaso Sacchi, Councillor for Culture of the City of Milan. “From March 19 to 22, in the spaces of Superstudio Più, Milan once again becomes a reference point for art photography, strengthening the city’s role as an international platform capable of bringing together artistic research, the market, institutions and new generations. The theme chosen for this edition, ”Metamorphosis,“ is particularly significant. Photography is, by its nature, a language in constant transformation: it evolves in techniques, media, technologies, but above all in gazes. Metamorphosis means going through change without losing identity, questioning the present and imagining new possibilities for meaning. It is a theme that speaks to photography, but also to our contemporaneity. The City of Milan strongly supports this event, a virtuous example of public-private collaboration capable of generating cultural, social and economic value for the city.”
“The fifteenth edition of MIA Photo Fair BNP Paribas confirms Milan as the Italian capital of photography and an international laboratory of experimentation on the languages of the image,” says Domenico Piraina, Director of Culture City of Milan and Palazzo Reale. “The theme Metamorphosis strongly intercepts the transformations of our time, in which photography is measured by new technologies, new imagery and new cultural responsibilities. The fair is not an isolated event, but the heart of a system of use that involves the entire city. In these weeks, major exhibitions in civic spaces-from Robert Mapplethorpe. The Forms of Desire at Palazzo Reale to Giovanni Gastel. Rewind at Palazzo Citterio to the projects at Fabbrica del Vapore and MUDEC-contribute to building a true urban palimpsest dedicated to photography. The dialogue between the fair and the OFF circuit strengthens a cultural ecosystem capable of uniting institutions, the market and research, offering the public a broad, articulated and international experience.”
“MIA Photo Fair BNP Paribas continues with each edition a precise path of international growth by strengthening the dialogue with galleries, artists and institutions from all over the world, and building an increasingly wide and qualified network of relationships,” says Francesca Malgara, Artistic Director of MIA Photo Fair BNP Paribas. “The fair today is configured as an open platform, capable of connecting different visions, geographies and languages, while maintaining a deep connection with Milan and its cultural fabric. In this tension between global dimension and urban rootedness, MIA Photo Fair BNP Paribas establishes itself as a living space of encounter and transformation, in which photography becomes a tool for reading the present and imagining the future.”
“Every year we renew our concrete commitment as title sponsor of MIA Photo Fair BNP Paribas; in this 2026 edition, with the reportage ”You don’t grow up alone“ we offer an additional look at our guests,” adds Luca Ranieri, Head of ESG Strategy, Communication & Public Affairs BNL BNP Paribas. “The camera’s lens points, in fact, at the daily lives of Milan’s suburbs, to cross a humanity made up of faces that tell stories, dreams and projects. This is consistent with our IncluCity Project, created to foster the social inclusion of young people in complex sociocultural contexts. The growing success of MIA Photo BNP Paribas confirms to us how art and culture are transversal values as well as social and economic drivers.”
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| MIA Photo Fair 2026, until March 22 the fair returns to the spaces of Superstudio Più |
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