Staring at Strangers in Black and White: Experiencing the Vienna Vintage Photo Fair
The Vienna Vintage Photo Fair has become a fixed point for anyone interested in photography as a physical, historical medium. In 2025, the fair returns in its familiar format: a one day event focused on vintage photographs photobooks, negatives etc, presented by a carefully selected group of dealers, collectors, archives and institutions at Westlicht.
This is not a design market, not a contemporary photo fair, and also not a flea market. The emphasis is very clear: photographs that were made in the period they represent, with all the material qualities that come with that. Although it is of course possible to grab some vintage book for a good price.
What You Will Find There
The range of work is broad, but coherent. Most exhibitors focus on photography from the 19th and 20th centuries, with material spanning from early daguerreotypes and albumen prints to gelatin silver prints, colour(ed) photographs and vernacular imagery from the late 20th century.
You will see:
early photographic objects (created by old but fascinating processes)
classic black and white vintage prints
anonymous and vernacular photography
portrait, documentary, travel and everyday imagery
photographs as archives rather than isolated artworks
photobooks ranging from manuals to coffee table books
all ranging from vintage up to the current exhibition of Bruce Gilden
Many works are unique pieces or exist only in very small numbers. The fair is one of the few places in Vienna where you can directly compare different photographic techniques, formats and eras side by side without the mediation of a museum display. Take your time and go through the numerous boxes and tables with lots of different photos offering a glimpse in someones life many years ago.
The Exhibitors Shape the Fair
What makes the Vienna Vintage Photo Fair feel specific rather than generic is the mix of exhibitors. Alongside established vintage photography dealers and galleries, the fair regularly includes:
Stefan Fiedler - a collector from Vienna
Mila Palm (Milaneum) - Vienna gallery and collector with deep engagement in vintage prints.
Reinhold & Ire Mittersakschmöller (Rainworld Archive) - a dealer pair known for curated archive material
Photoinstitut Bonartes - a research institute presenting scholarly photographic material.
Schule Friedl Kubelka (Austria) - school presenting student work
Elfriede-Mejchar-Preis für Fotografie showing vintage print done by herself
This mix creates the atmosphere. Conversations often revolve around condition, provenance, process and context rather than sales pitches. Many exhibitors are deeply involved in the material they show and are happy to explain why a print looks the way it does, how it was made, or how it survived.
Check out the complete list of exhibitors.
Pricing and Access
The fair is known for being relatively accessible. Prices range widely, but there is usually a noticeable selection of works that are within reach for first time buyers, students, designers or photographers who want grab a piece for their home or to start collecting. Free entry helps keep the audience mixed, from serious collectors to people who simply enjoy looking at historical photographs.
Even without buying anything, the fair works as a dense visual experience. You can spend hours browsing boxes of prints, flipping through portfolios, and discovering images that would never make it into a curated exhibition.
Who It Makes Sense For
The fair is particularly interesting if you are:
an analogue or documentary photographer
a designer or visual researcher
interested in photographic history beyond canonical names
curious about how photographs age and survive
looking for images with use, wear and stories
Practical Notes
Free entry makes it easy to drop in without pressure. Held within WestLicht, a major photography institution in Vienna, the fair sits in context with other photographic events and exhibitions around the city.
The Vienna Vintage Photo Fair 2026 will be held at:
Sunday April 12, 10am - 6pm, Free Entrance
Architekturzentrum, MuseumsQuartier, 1070 Wien
Vintage Print done by Elfriede Mejchar
And a personal remark
I was pleasantly surprised to see that the fair wasn’t just full of seasoned collectors, but also younger visitors genuinely curious about the photographs as objects and art.
The Vienna Vintage Photo Fair does not try to impress with scale or spectacle. Its strength lies in concentration, material depth and the people involved. If you care about photography beyond screens and reproductions, it’s one of the most direct and honest ways to engage with the medium in Vienna.
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