Photo London, the annual event for fine art photographers and collectors, has become one of the latest events to be impacted by the growing Covid-19 pandemic. The sixth edition of the Fair was due to take place at Somerset House from 14–17 May – but is now being rescheduled to early autumn to safeguard public health.
‘For the past few weeks, we have been monitoring the gathering storm around the COVID-19 outbreak. Although it seemed for a while that we might be able to run the Fair as planned, the safety and well-being of our exhibitors, artists, staff, suppliers and visitors from around the world is paramount,' explains Photo London’s founders Fariba Farshad and Michael Benson. 'We had a great edition in prospect, but this has now become an irrelevance in the face of public health and our responsibility to adhere to the latest government advice, as well as the logistical challenges of international travel. We have taken this decision because we simply must do all that we can to keep people safe. There is nothing more important than that.'
The organizers are currently in discussions with the team at Somerset House and hope to make a more detailed announcement in the coming days about our plans for this sixth edition of the Fair.
In the last 24 hours we have also been told that two other central London destinations for photographers are also closing temporarily due to the virus. The Photographers Gallery is shutting its doors until at least 31 March, and the Fujifilm House of Photography has said that it will be closed until at least 23 March.
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The Photography Show 2020: everything you need to know