Our patrimonial mission

Since its founding, the Institut pour la photographie has pursued the goal of integrating photography into a rigorous yet accessible cultural heritage policy.

The Institut pour la photographie preserves and promotes four major archival collections by photographers: those of Bettina Rheims, Jean-Louis Schoellkopf, and Agnès Varda—all acquired in 2021—and that of Pierre Zucca, acquired in 2026, as well as a unique collection of books on photography. Including negatives, contact sheets, prints, publications, working documents, and professional libraries, these collections reflect the diversity of photographic practices. Reflecting different artistic and aesthetic approaches and created in a variety of production contexts, they also illustrate the technical and material evolution of the medium.

Beyond their cultural heritage value, these archives are an essential resource for the Institute’s various areas of activity, including dissemination, research, artistic and cultural transmission, and publishing. In addition to studying our society, we also aim to foster an understanding of how to critically interpret images.

By focusing its patrimonial mission on the archival collections of professional photographers active in France, the Institut pour la photographie is addressing a national need. Faced with a growing number of requests from photographers and their beneficiaries, the Institut pour la photographie established an advisory committee in 2025 to make collective decisions in line with the development of its activities' program. In consultation with the Institut’s team, four qualified external experts evaluate the significance of the proposed collections in relation to those already held, based on their respective areas of expertise—preservation and promotion, research, and education. Once a year, this committee issues a pre-selection recommendation for approval by the Institut’s Board of Directors.

Whether on long-term deposit or donated, the selected collections are preserved in their physical and intellectual integrity, receiving specific conservation treatments tailored to each case. As key subjects of study, they provide insight into the creative process of photography in all its uses and forms.

Gradually made available to the public and showcased through exhibitions, publications, an online database, events, participatory projects, and research, this photographic heritage also serves as a living archive.