A strategic partnership brings Prix Pictet to the forefront of the world’s premier photography fair, underscoring a shared belief in photography’s unique power to advance cultural and environmental reflection
Nadav Kander, Chongqing IV (Sunday Picnic), China, 2006. (Image credit: Nadav Kander)
A new chapter for photography
Photography has long occupied a unique position between art and testimony, documenting the world while shaping our understanding of it. In November 2026, this relationship will take on renewed significance as Pictet Group becomes the official partner of Paris Photo, bringing Prix Pictet to the fair with a dedicated exhibition at the Grand Palais for the first time.
A natural partnership
This partnership reflects a natural synergy between two institutions long devoted to photography. Since its founding in 1997, Paris Photo has established itself as the world’s leading platform for the medium, bringing together premier galleries, publishers, artists and collectors. Prix Pictet, founded by Pictet Group in 2008, has similarly championed photography addressing sustainability for nearly two decades, recognizing artists whose work confronts the environmental and social challenges of our era.
Alfredo Jaar, The-End (GSL_a), 2025. (Image credit: Alfredo Jaar)
Inside the inaugural exhibition
Positioned prominently on the Promenoir within the Grand Palais’ soaring Nef, the inaugural Prix Pictet exhibition will invite visitors to experience some of the award’s most celebrated works. Rather than following a chronological timeline, the exhibition presents a carefully curated dialogue between past laureates, revealing the diverse artistic approaches photography brings to questions of climate, consumption, landscape, and human resilience.
These works collectively demonstrate photography’s distinctive ability to convey what data cannot express. Monumental landscapes, intimate portraits, and documentary observations document the impact of ecological disruption, industrialisation, and evolving human relationships with the natural world. Created across different eras and regions, these images remain remarkably relevant today, addressing concerns that have grown increasingly pressing since the prize’s inception.
Richard Mosse, Tempelhof Interior, 2016 (Image credit: Richard Mosse)
Celebrated laureates
The exhibition celebrates the remarkable diversity of Prix Pictet laureates across its 11 completed cycles. Past winners include Nadav Kander, whose series Yangtze – The Long River documents China’s rapid transformation; Richard Mosse, known for immersive explorations of migration and conflict; Sally Mann, whose evocative studies of landscape and memory resonate deeply; and Alfredo Jaar, the most recent laureate, whose multidisciplinary practice interrogates the politics and ethics of representation.
Photography as cultural commentary
This vision of photography as both artistic expression and cultural commentary aligns perfectly with Paris Photo’s broader mission. As the fair approaches its 30th edition, it continues to unite historical masters with contemporary practitioners and emerging voices, showcasing the medium’s constant evolution and fostering conversations across generations, disciplines, and geographies.
Prix Pictet ‘Human’ award ceremony at the V&A South Kensington, London, 2023 (Image credit: Magnus Arrevad)
Pictet Group’s sustainability commitment
For Pictet Group, this partnership embodies a commitment that extends beyond collecting or sponsorship. Sustainability has shaped the firm’s identity for decades, and Prix Pictet was founded on the belief that photography possesses a unique ability to shift how audiences understand the environmental challenges facing our planet. With each edition, photographers are invited to respond to a new sustainability theme, creating bodies of work that inspire both reflection and aesthetic appreciation.
Reach and impact
This vision has extended far beyond the award itself. Since 2008, Prix Pictet has nominated more than 5,600 photographers, with touring exhibitions reaching international audiences and engaging over 1.5 million visitors. Paris Photo 2026 marks the next milestone, presenting these works at one of photography’s most prestigious annual events.
Prix Pictet ‘Storm’ award ceremony at the V&A South Kensington, London, 2025 (Image credit: Magnus Arrevad)
A moment of reflection
Set against the restored Grand Palais’ architectural grandeur, the Prix Pictet exhibition offers visitors a moment of reflection amid the fair’s energy. Together, Paris Photo and Pictet Group demonstrate how photography operates not only as an artistic medium, but as a powerful lens through which to understand the world we inhabit and the future we collectively shape.
Visit Paris Photo 2026 from 12-15 November 2026 at the Grand Palais