Artissima: a guide for galleries looking for a photographer in Turin
When to shoot the booth, how many images you need, how fast they arrive and how you can use them: the questions galleries ask before Artissima.
Artissima is Turin’s international contemporary art fair. Founded in 1994, it takes place every year in early November at the Oval Lingotto, the hall built for the 2006 Winter Olympics, and brings galleries from all over the world, arranged in sections such as Present Future and Back to the Future. In the same days Turin fills with exhibitions, satellite fairs and openings: it is the busiest week of the year for contemporary art in the city.
Many galleries arrive without a photographer and find out they need one when the booth opens. These are the questions we are asked most often.
Artissima 2025. The aisles of the Oval during the public days.
When should the booth be photographed?
Before the doors open, with the booth finished and the hall lighting stable. It is the only moment for clean views, with nobody standing in front of the works. During the preview we come back for the story: collectors, curators, artists, the atmosphere.
How many images do you need?
It depends on the booth, but a useful baseline is:
- two or three overall views, from different points;
- every work individually, with colour as faithful as possible;
- a few details of materials and surfaces;
- a small selection with visitors, for communication.
White works on a white wall: this needs light that reveals the relief without flattening it.
How fast do the photographs arrive?
Galleries use them straight away, to send to collectors while the fair is open. On request we deliver a first selection the same day and the full set by the next day.
Do you need a pass?
Yes. The photographer enters with a gallery pass or an accreditation from the fair: ask early, because access during installation days is controlled.
Can performances and participatory works be photographed too?
Of course, and they are often the liveliest pictures of the fair. In 2025 some booths showed works that visitors could complete with notes and objects: there the photograph tells an action, not just an object.
A participatory work at Artissima 2025: the public becomes part of the image.
How can the images be used?
The licence covers the communication of the gallery and the artist: website, social media, newsletters, collector mailings, archive. Paid advertising or transfer to third parties is agreed separately. Details are on the Image rights page.
Why a studio based in Turin?
No travel costs, knowledge of the venue and the fair’s timing, and availability for openings in the city during the same week. We photographed Artissima 2025 and often work with difficult surfaces, such as the glass of The Venice Glass Week or Barry X Ball’s sculptures at San Giorgio Maggiore.
If you are bringing your gallery to Artissima, write to us before the fair: slots before opening are few.
