AIPAD, The Association of International Photography Art Dealers, presents THE PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW   is in NYC till Sunday and it’s spectacular!

If you are a lover of the photographic arts, it’s a once a year fair you have to go to.

Head on to the Park Avenue Armory, a brilliant location for this event and

With a plethora of dealers of print and a huge selection of book sellers, and many of the booths host signing by the artists. you will no doubt walk out with a piece.

And if you’re not ready to buy, there has been a wide range of talks by the luminaries in the art. Click the link to the main site to see the PDF of talks.

Lydia Melamed Johnson, Executive Director, introduces the talks:

Dr. Deborah Willis, 2026 AIPAD Award Winner, convo kicked off the talks to a packed house, with Brendan Embser, senior editor at Aperture (and her former student!)

Gerhard Steidl, best photo book publisher, spoke about his relationship with Robert Frank, who entrusted him with many of his books, including reprinting the Americans. Shown here with Clark Winter, artist and neighbor of Frank’s who added insights to the talk

Plus, one of my all time faves is the PhotoBooth from @Autophoto, where for $8 you can get a beautiful photo strip, which has been tweaked to give you the best lighting you can get in these machines.

I was looking forward to seeing one of my favorite artists from previous years.

However, the current world situation, and tariffs has now affected the art world. She and her work were nowhere to be found.

Another artist I met last year, and have been following on socials, was also a no-show.

Whether travelers from other countries are nervous about the current visa/ border outlook, or bringing art to be sold here gets affected by higher prices due to tariffs becomes a question.

There are a few ways to look at this: the people who are collecting art, may not feel the full effects of the current financial situation.

When you can afford the pleasure of buying art, whether for the sheer love of the piece, or for the investment, this too shall pass. Maybe.

Or does this encourage the art fairs to show more of the homegrown artists, and less of those from offshore.

The secondary market may not be affected as the art may already be here in the US.

The dealers who foot the bill for these fairs have been hit. I spoke to a few about this situation, although I will not call them out by name.

It was just a bit of malaise I felt with some of them.

AIPAD has always been about Association of International Photographic Art Dealers.

International.

Says so right in the name. I hope by next year we are back to a normal state of affairs.

I look forward to this Photography Show every year. It’s a way to see new work, revel in the classics, and see friends who all gather event this event.

I was on the same bus with Louis Mendes coming on day 2, and he shared some business advice for me. I have known him for years, and I think if you are at a photo event in NYC, you will have seen him.

He is 86 and will be honored by the Gordon parks foundation this year. Has trained numerous street photographers, with his trusty Speed Graphic in his mitts. I think he convinced me to bring mine out from storage!

As the year progresses, we’ll see how the other fairs have addressed the current state of affairs. Next up is Frieze in NYC.

Not a photographic fair, yet still gets affected by the tariff situation.

What is your take ? email me at damon@photoinduced.com, and we can chat.