The fifteenth edition of the fair once again reaffirms its status as a journey through art, emotion and visual experimentation. “Photography tells the story of the present and imagines the future,” says director Francesca Malgara.
From 19 to 22 March 2026, MIA Photo Fair BNL BNP Paribas will transform Superstudio Più in Milan into a universe suspended between reality and vision. Crossing the threshold of the fair, Milan itself seems suspended between light and shadow, between the present and its potential. The images are never still; they breathe, whisper stories and move between space and viewer. Each booth becomes a world of its own and each project is an invitation to get lost and see the world through new eyes and discover details that were not there before. Upon entering, time seems to slow down: light glides across the images, colours intertwine, and every photograph seems to breathe. Here, photography is not just observed, it surrounds and envelops us, inviting us to pause and listen to its stories.
With 111 exhibitors, including 76 galleries and 27 international ones, as well as 24 first-time participants, MIA Photo Fair presents itself as a mosaic of possible worlds. As visitors wander among the booths, they encounter works that immediately capture the eye, while others reveal themselves gradually, like secrets waiting to be uncovered. Some images provoke, others enchant; some speak of the present, while others suggest possible futures. Each project is an invitation to look beyond the surface and perceive what lies beneath, embracing the unexpected. The fair is not just an exhibition space; it is a journey, a flow of visions that move through the body and mind, unsettling thought and sparking curiosity. As you walk among the galleries, you feel part of a larger narrative where the boundary between reality and imagination becomes almost imperceptible.
Héctor Zamora, Swarm of Airships, 2022, digital print on Hahnemühle Luster 260 gsm p aper, 200 × 133 cm, edition of 3 + 1 artist’s proof (AP). Courtesy of the artist and Albarrán Bourdais.
During the preview on 18 March, MIA Photo Fair presented the first awards of its fifteenth edition. Among the works that immediately captured attention was Swarm of Airships by Mexican artist Héctor Zamora, who is represented by the Madrid- based Albarrán Bourdais gallery. This surprising and enchanting piece features an airship suspended between two buildings in a Venetian street, seemingly defying the
laws of gravity and time. It transforms the city into a place suspended between reality and imagination. It is an image that speaks of sudden, paradoxical change entering our everyday lives and transforming them. Here, photography is not just a document; it is a lens through which to interpret the contemporary world and a poetic means of understanding reality and its metamorphoses. Every detail of Zamora’s work invites viewers to pause, marvel, and consider how reality can be reinvented through even the most ordinary of gestures.
In its statement, the jury — comprising Francesca Malgara (Director of MIA Photo Fair), Luca Ranieri (Head of ESG Strategy, Communication & Public Affairs at BNL BNP Paribas), Nicola Zanella (cultural manager), Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo (collector) and Sam Stourdzé (Director of the French Academy at Villa Medici) — emphasised the importance of photography within Zamora’s practice. In Swarm of Airships, the installation itself becomes an image, the urban space is transformed into a theatrical stage and the viewer, suspended between dream and reality, becomes part of an unexpected narrative that inspires wonder and offers a renewed vision of the world. Reality itself is disrupted by a surprising event that reveals how change, even when unpredictable and paradoxical, can become part of the 'new normal'.
However, the fair cannot be judged solely on its awards: it is an experience to be enjoyed, with every step leading to a new discovery. It is a place where looking becomes an experience and experience transforms into emotion. At MIA Photo Fair 2026, Milan becomes a laboratory of visions. As they walk among the stands, visitors allow themselves to be moved by art, to lose themselves in stories and perspectives. Ultimately, they leave with fresh eyes, capable of seeing the world differently. They emerge transformed, with a more open perspective and a renewed desire to view the world as though they are seeing it for the first time, ready to be surprised. This is what MIA Photo Fair 2026 is all about: a laboratory of dreams and an invitation to let images move through us, helping us to rediscover the sense of wonder we thought we had lost in the folds of reality.