{"id":33256,"date":"2026-05-11T03:27:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T03:27:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/33256\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T03:27:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T03:27:08","slug":"photo-londons-director-on-finding-a-wider-frame-beneath-olympias-vaulted-ceiling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/33256\/","title":{"rendered":"Photo London\u2019s director on finding a wider frame beneath Olympia\u2019s vaulted ceiling\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Monocle speaks to Photo London\u2019s director, Sophie Parker, to find out what visitors can expect and her highlights of this year\u2019s programme.<\/p>\n

Photography has long lived in the curved iron bones of the Olympia. In 1957, the west London events venue hosted the biannual Photo Fair in which amateurs and professionals gathered eagerly for expert lectures and photography demonstrations under the Victorian barrel-vaulted roof. It was an early sign that London would become a major international hub for photography. Now Photo London<\/a>, which runs from 14-17 May, will take place under the same historic ceiling and become its first artistic tenant since the exhibition hall underwent a five-year redevelopment by British firm Heatherwick Studio.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A global meeting point for established and emerging collectors, artists and institutions, Photo London has built a reputation as the launchpad for works that find their way to major museum exhibitions. The fair marks its move from a 10-year stint at Somerset House with a rare public exhibition by Steven Meisel, the 2026 recipient of Photo London\u2019s prestigious Master of Photography award.<\/p>\n

Here, Monocle meets Sophie Parker, Photo London\u2019s director, at the new venue to find out what Olympia\u2019s expanded footprint will provide, as well as her highlights from this year\u2019s programme of more than 100 galleries.<\/p>\n

\"\"In focus: Photo London director, Sophie Parker, outside Olympia (Image: Anne Moffat)<\/p>\n

What can visitors expect from the fair\u2019s 11th iteration?
It will have the bones of the photo fair that visitors know and love but boosted. I want it to feel like we have graduated. Whereas the fair in Somerset House was spread out across the interior galleries and the courtyard, at Olympia everything will be under one roof and should feel like a cohesive whole. After a wonderful decade at Somerset House, it felt like the right time to take things to the next level. I describe the vaulted roof of the National Hall as resembling Paris\u2019s Grand Palais but on a more manageable scale.<\/p>\n

Why did you choose Olympia as the next venue for Photo London?
The new redevelopment here has been conceived to host arts and culture fairs and Photo London is the first to do so. It\u2019s nice to get in at the beginning and champion new ideas at existing venues. There\u2019s also a lot of history here \u2013 Thomas Heatherwick has added his own architectural spin on this industrial building, which feels exactly like what we try to do at Photo London: mixing the contemporary with the historical. There\u2019s a real sense of grandeur when you walk into Olympia.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\tAerial rendering of the newly redeveloped Olympia\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t(Image: Courtesy of Photo London)\n\t<\/p>\n

What kind of programme can visitors expect this year?
The new venue has attracted both returning exhibitors and first-time participants,\u00a0some of whom we\u2019ve been trying to lure to the fair for years. I\u2019m particularly excited about Galerie Julian Sander in Cologne and Miyako Yoshinaga in New York attending. We\u2019ve been able to make use of every single square metre here and reconfigure the booths\u2019 positions to include 10 unrepresented artists, giving them a platform alongside established commercial galleries. We\u2019ll also have an art film screening room for the first time. Like us, galleries seem to feel re-energised by the move.<\/p>\n

How are you engaging young collectors?
The 2026 Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report<\/a> states that the number of transactions is on the up but their value is lower, which is perfect for collectors starting out. We have a programme called the Young Collectors Circle, which is dedicated to demystifying the art market so that younger collectors understand where the value comes from and realise that photography absolutely belongs in contemporary art collections. The art world can be intimidating, and Photo London is a good opportunity to engage with these galleries.<\/p>\n

What to see at Photo London<\/p>\n

Flowers Gallery
Established in London in 1970, contemporary art and mixed media gallery Flowers<\/a> is a long-standing exhibitor at Photo London. This year, Flowers will spotlight a selection of photographs of Western Australia by Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky. Expect large-scale landscapes capturing the world\u2019s evolving biodiversity and possible destruction through colourful tableaux which feel both captivating and haunting.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\tEdward Burtynsky, \u2018Murrin Murrin Tailings Pond #1, Murrin Murrin Mine, WA, Australia\u2019, 2025\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t(Image: Courtesy of Flowers Gallery)\n\t<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEdward Burtynsky, \u2018Murrin Murrin Tailings Pond #1, Murrin Murrin Mine, WA, Australia\u2019, 2025\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Image: Courtesy of Flowers Gallery)\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEdward Burtynsky, \u2018Shell Beach #3, Shark Bay, Western Australia\u2019, 2025\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Image: Courtesy of Flowers Gallery)\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Large Glass
Returning to Photo London after a few years away, commercial art gallery Large Glass<\/a> brings a solo presentation by Swiss-French architectural photographer H\u00e9l\u00e8ne Binet. Known for working with film, Binet\u2019s black-and-white oeuvre uses detailed crops to capture the essence of the work of some of the world\u2019s most respected architects, including Zaha Hadid, Daniel Libeskind and Peter Zumthor.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\tH\u00e9l\u00e8ne Binet, \u2018St George’s, Bloomsbury 02\u2019, 2013\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t(Image: Courtesy of Large Glass)\n\t<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tH\u00e9l\u00e8ne Binet, \u2018St George’s, Bloomsbury 02\u2019, 2013\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Image: Courtesy of Large Glass)\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tH\u00e9l\u00e8ne Binet, \u2018Villa Emo, Andrea Palladio\u2019, 2023\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Image: Courtesy of Large Glass)\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

10 14 Gallery
To mark its inaugural participation, 10 14 Gallery<\/a> will be exhibiting London-based artists of note from the first five years of its programming. This includes works by Vivek Vadoliya, who uses a warm lens to intimately document the nuances of his British-Gujarati identity.<\/p>\n

\t\t\tVivek Vadoliya, \u2018& when the seeds fell\u2019\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t(Image: Courtesy of 10 14 Gallery)\n\t<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVivek Vadoliya, \u2018& when the seeds fell\u2019\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Image: Courtesy of 10 14 Gallery)\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVivek Vadoliya, \u2018& when the seeds fell\u2019\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Image: Courtesy of 10 14 Gallery)\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVivek Vadoliya, \u2018& when the seeds fell\u2019\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Image: Courtesy of 10 14 Gallery)\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Monocle speaks to Photo London\u2019s director, Sophie Parker, to find out what visitors can expect and her highlights…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33257,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[494,27,15514,6767],"class_list":{"0":"post-33256","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-art","9":"tag-london","10":"tag-photo-london","11":"tag-photography"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116553819274148290","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33256"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33256\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}