Haute Photographie and Object Rotterdam: New Collateral Fair Models from the Netherlands

Two new collateral fair formats from the Netherlands are reshaping the photography and design sectors. Haute Photographie, conceived by Rotterdam gallerist, collector, and publisher Roy Kahmann, celebrates its first edition in 2017 after a pilot in 2016. The fair is held at the Fotomuseum Nederlands, an institutional space that provides multiple rooms for the market event. Participating galleries—including Esther Woerdehoff (Paris), Grundemark/Nilsson (Stockholm–Berlin), Howard Greenberg (New York), and Ibasho (Antwerp)—are selected by invitation and do not pay for their spaces; the organization handles sales logistics. The exhibition is curated as a thematic show around the concept of sharing, rather than individual booths. Over 50 artists are featured, including emerging talent Laura Hospes from New York. Meanwhile, Object Rotterdam is a design fair held aboard a large cruise ship permanently moored on the Maas River, near the historic Hotel New York. Seventy-five designers exhibit across decks, cabins, the former indoor pool, and the engine room, where a show of 100 chairs is staged. Highlights range from historic Gerrit Rietveld pieces to works by Atelier Van Lieshout, and the Colour Wood Chair number 99 by Japanese designer Karimoku New Standard, realized by Scholten & Baijings of Amsterdam, which will have its official debut at Salone del Mobile in Milan the following April.