Devoted to non-Western photography and created in 2007, Photoquai is a biennial event which takes place in Paris in odd-numbered years. The second festival runs on the banks of the Seine alongside the musée du quai Branly and in a large number of renowned Parisian institutions in partnership with the festival.

The 2009 festival pays particular attention to ensuring the continuity between the exhibitions on the quays and the exhibitions inside the partner establishments, particularly at the musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac, where the West gallery will present an exhibition on Iranian photography.

Orientation and programming

The artistic director coordinates a programming committee consisting of photography professionals and which works in association with around twenty overseas commissioners. Wide-ranging geographical regions have been identified to ensure that the whole non-Western world is represented:

In each of these regions, the associate commissioners are responsible for discovering talented photographers hitherto unknown in Europe and bringing them to the attention of the programming committee. Photoquai has no predefined theme as it believes this would be more of a hindrance than a help in discovering new talent. Its ambition is to present the works of fifty contemporary photographers from across the world.