Created in 1996, Paris Photo is the most prestigious art fair dedicated  to historical and contemporary photography. This fair takes place annually at the Grand Palais in Paris mid-November and launches their first Los Angeles edition April 26-28, 2013, bringing together a selection of international galleries in the heart of an iconic site at the Paramount Pictures Studios.

Over the past 16 years, Paris Photo has become a significant event for collectors of contemporary and modern art, photography professionals, artists,  as well as for an ever-growing audience of art appreciators. Each edition is unique and brings together a distinguished selection of exhibitors with diverse collections focused on the photographic medium. A public program is also an important component of the fairs which is built around cultural events involving artists, art world professionals, collectors, and cultural institutions.

A critical part of Paris Photo Los Angeles is the educational component, organized by independent curator Douglas Fogle, and titled Sound and Vision. This program will offers  multiple intellectual perspectives on the use of images – both moving and still – in contemporary culture. Confirmed participants include Doug Aitken, Phil Collins, Gregory Crewdson, Thomas Demand, John Divola
, Roe Ethridge, An-My Lê, Sharon Lockhart, Richard Misrach, Catherine Opie and Alec Soth along with Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner.

Each conversation will be introduced by an international curator or critic who will open the talk with a conceptual meditation on the relationship between still and moving images in the history of art and cinema. Confirmed curators include Dr. Simon Baker (Tate Modern), Chrissie Iles (Whitney Museum), Rani Singh (Getty Research Institute), Erin O’Toole (SFMOMA),and Marc Olivier Wahler.

The full schedule of talks can be found here: Sound and Vision.

Sound and Vision continues with The Screenings–because really, what would a Los Angeles be without Hollywood, and post-WW2 French cinema without Hollywood? And where would Hollywood’s  New Cinema/New Wave (Bogdanovich, Scorsese, Hopper, Carpenter, Schrader, DiPalma and yes, Roger Corman)  be without France’s Nouvelle Vague and auteurism? In order to expand the conceptual understanding of the uses of photographic images, Paris Photo Los Angeles will be turning to a consideration of the moving image in artistic practice. During the fair’s opening hours we will be presenting a series of screenings of artist films and videos on Stages 31 and 32 of the Paramount Studios back lot. Focusing on recently fallen masters of experimental cinema such as Chris Marker and Bruce Conner, as well as younger practitioners in the field of film and video, this program will bring together a wide variety of artistic approaches to the moving image on loops.

Enriched by the unique cultural environment of these two cities, Paris Photo  offers its visitors an unsurpassed experience in two historic locations which bring together all the different trends in photography.

Paris Photo’s charitable component is brought  by Giorgio Armani, Paris Photo’s Official Partner since 2011,  who also takse part in the fair’s first edition in Los Angeles. Within a dedicated space at the center of the fair, Giorgio Armani will present “ACQUA #3,” a new body of work by  photographer Jim Goldberg. Taken in Haiti, these images reflect the  continued challenge of access to clean drinking water as the country  struggles to rebuild in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake of 2010.

Water supply has been a social cause supported by Giorgio Armani through  the “Acqua for Life” project, which he established in 2011. “Acqua for Life” has helped to  collect more than 95 million litres of drinkable water for Green Cross International and its programs in Ghana and Bolivia. “Acqua for Life” is now joining forces with J/P Haitian Relief Organization (J/P HRO), Sean Penn’s NGO dedicated to saving lives and bringing sustainable programs to Haiti.

Tickets are $28/day for general admission, $20 for students; with the $40 admission, a catalog is included. The fair runs noon-7pm on Friday and Saturday, and noon to 6pm on Sunday.