European House of Photography (MEP)
What is the Maison Européenne de la Photographie (MEP)?
The Maison Européenne de la Photographie, abbreviated MEP, is a photography exhibition center located in Paris, France. It was inaugurated in February 1996.
Who founded the MEP?
The MEP was created in 1996 by the association “Paris Audiovisuel - Maison Européenne de la Photographie”. This association was founded in 1978 by Jacques Chirac, then mayor of Paris, on the initiative of Henry Chapier, a French journalist, film critic, TV show host and feature film director.
How is the MEP financed?
The MEP is financially supported by the Mairie de Paris, which provides the building in which it is located. The association receives financial support from the city for its operations.
Where is the MEP located?
The Maison Européenne de la Photographie is located at 5/7, rue de Fourcy in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. It is housed in a singular Marais townhouse, Hôtel Hénault de Cantobre, which was built in 1706.
What services does MEP offer?
The MEP offers a variety of services, including a 36,000-book library that can be consulted on site, a 100-seat auditorium, a video library with around a thousand films, a specialized bookshop, and a café housed in 18th-century vaulted rooms. It offers guided tours, lectures, film cycles linked to exhibitions, and special programs for young audiences.
What is the MEP's mission?
The MEP's mission is to promote photography and provide user-friendly access to it for a broad public. It focuses on photography's three essential distribution media: the exhibition print, the printed page and film.
Who runs the MEP?
The Maison Européenne de la Photographie has been run since 1996 by Jean-Luc Monterosso as director and Henry Chapier as president. In 2018, Simon Baker, former chief curator in the Department of Photography and International Art at London's Tate Modern, was appointed director to succeed Jean-Luc Monterosso.What is the MEP collection?
The MEP collection focuses on contemporary photography, and includes over 20,000 works, mainly silver and digital photographs, as well as artists' videos. It also boasts a vast collection of books on photography, including artists' books and technical and theoretical writings. The MEP regularly organizes exhibition cycles highlighting international themes, movements and artists, mainly from the second half of the 20th century and the 21st century.
What are some of the notable exhibitions organized by the MEP?
The MEP has hosted many notable exhibitions, including works by artists such as Shirin Neshat, Robert Frank, Orlan, Helmut Newton, David Hockney, Irving Penn, Martin Parr, Andy Warhol, Larry Clark and many others. It has also presented retrospectives of renowned artists such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, William Klein, and Ren Hang, as well as thematic exhibitions and major donations, such as the Dai Nippon Printing donation of Japanese photographs.
The Maison Européenne de la Photographie in brief
Opened in 1996, La Maison Européenne de la Photographie (MEP) is a photography exhibition center.
It is run by an association, “Paris Audiovisuel - Maison Européenne de la Photographie”, founded in 1978 by Jacques Chirac, then Mayor of Paris, on the initiative of Henry Chapier (French journalist, film critic, TV show host and feature film director), and financially supported by the Mairie de Paris, which provides the building.
The Maison Européenne de la Photographie is housed in the Hôtel Hénault de Cantobre, one of the Marais' most unusual private mansions.
Address: 5/7, rue de Fourcy 75004 Paris.
MEP website
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