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Created by the musée du Quai Branly in 2007, PHOTOQUAI, the biennial for non-western photography, will be held from September, 22 to November, 22 2009 at the Quai Branly opposite to the museum, in partnership with the cultural institutions.
The first edition had been a success, and was widely praised in both cultural and artistic circles for its quality, ambition and relevance. The 2009 edition of PHOTOQUAI continues with its original mission: highlighting and enhancing the work of artists still unknown or little-known here in Europe, while encouraging a dialogue and a new way of looking at the world.
The artistic management of this second PHOTOQUAI biennial festival will be assured by Anahita Ghabaian Etehadieh, an Iranian gallery manager, founder of the Silk Road Gallery which is dedicated to photography and which is unique in its kind in Iran.

The geographical areas in the Musée du Quai Branly’s collections (South America and Latin America, North America, Asia, Oceania, Africa, and the Near and Middle East.) will be represented in PHOTOQUAI, which will show the work of 50 contemporary photographers from all over the world.

The 2009 event will guarantee a continuity between the exhibitions on the embankments of the Seine and in the gardens of the Quai Branly Museum (which can be accessed free of charge), in the temporary exhibitions presented within the Quai Branly Museum itself and at its Pavillon des Sessions branch at the Louvre, and at the partner establishments.
Designed for the general public, PHOTOQUAI further contributes to highlighting the work of these artists by involving partner artists across the capital, from the Chaillot hillside to the Marais district, to give a complete overview of contemporary photographic creativity from around the world, including: the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (French National library) – Richelieu, the Monnaie de Paris, the Museum of Modern Art of the City of Paris, the Japanese cultural centre, the Australian embassy, the Baudoin Lebon Gallery, the Bendana Pinel gallery, the Canadian cultural centre, the Mexico Institute and the Ecole Nationale de la Photographie (National School of Photography) in Arles.
With this second event, the musée du Quai Branly will celebrate Iranian photography on the western mezzanine, with the collection area offering a "snapshot" of Iranian photography from the late 19th century including portraits from the Quajar period and pictures of the Shah Reza Pahlavi, up to more recent works from major Iranian contemporary photographers. Whether visual artists or documentary makers, they are currently working in Iran and abroad, and contribute to expand the artistic involvement of their country throughout the world.

The musée du Quai Branly will also present a selection of ethnographic and artistic portraits at the Pavillon des Sessions (its branch at the Louvre) from its photographic collections including both ancient anonymous works and photographs by famous artists (Pierre Verger, H. Cartier-Bresson, Claude Lévi- Strauss and Roland Bonaparte, etc), dating back to the late 19th century to the 1960’s.
Each Friday throughout PHOTOQUAI, the musée du quai Branly will organize meetings and discussions with the photographers and curators involved with the six geographical areas represented, conferences, films and roundtable discussions on the theme of photography, a presentation of the work of three guest photographers in residence at the Quai Branly Museum in addition to the meetings held in the Jacques Kerchache Reading room.