When we first staged a photography exhibition in 2005 with the intention of being a popular platform for the art form of photography, which was scorned by museums and cultural institutions, far removed from academic know-it-all-ism, we never thought that photoSCHWEIZ would become the largest and most important exhibition of its kind in Switzerland 18 years later, with over 250 photographers each time. Despite being critically eyed by cultural journalists at first and ignored by high culture, we have managed to build a regular audience of several thousand photography-interested visitors over the years.

It was precisely the initial resistance of the established photography scene, who accused us of being a bit too popular, that spurred us on to prove the opposite. We bet on young talents and took a completely new path in presentation with our unique scenography – the exhibited works were placed on 100% recyclable Styrofoam cubes – and we designed our event to be a happening. When on one hand, in 2008, we launched the series "Die Sicht der Anderen" with special exhibitions on blind photographers, prison inmates, or patients of a psychiatric clinic, and on the other hand, in 2010, we launched the photoFORUM, where we could win over international star photographers like Peter Lindbergh, James Nachtwey, René Burri, Greg Gormann for us, the classic photo establishment also started to take an interest in us.

That was the breakthrough, and since then, we have added new modules every year, such as the photoSCHOOL with countless workshops and seminars, the photoWALK through Zurich's neighborhoods, the photoINDUSTRY with commercial partners, or from 2016 the Photographer of the Year award together with our Swiss Photo Academy, to the actual core – the exhibition.

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photoINTERNATIONAL AG is located at

‍Langstrasse 94 CH-8004 Zürich
+41 44 245 40 10