In a year of AI image corruption, this year's fair, focused largely on Latin American and Latine artists, feels especially hopeful. Even more arresting than seeing a photograph framed on a wall are rooms full of varied physical photographs — vintage, rare or contemporary — outside of the narrow confines of museum or gallery settings.

This year’s iteration of AIPAD at the Park Avenue Armory brought 82 image exhibitors to its main floor with an overwhelmingly varied display. Among the most trafficked booths on opening night was that of Jackson Fine Arts, which displayed tender works portraying female tweenhood by Sally Mann and selections from Gordon Parks's monumental Segregation Story series (1956).

For its 2026 edition, running through Sunday, April 26, the self-proclaimed longest-running photography fair in the world emphasized artists from Latin America and its diaspora. At one booth, first-time participant Ruiz-Healy Art displayed a photograph of Dolores Huerta taken by Graciela Iturbide in 1991.

In an arguably more classical representation of Latin American art history, Throckmorton Fine Art prominently displayed a vast assortment of photographs of Frida Kahlo, including a $75,000 miniature portrait of the artist captured by Edward Weston in 1931. Meanwhile, Jorge Mazzinghi from Buenos Aires sold unbound photo books taken by individuals who are homeless as part of his Proyecto Calle project.

Despite the digital age, physical art remains a powerful medium for storytelling and reflection, even if it might just be a temporary reprieve before our screens become even more dominant. AIPAD's focus on Latin American artists is a reminder that there’s still value in human connection over algorithmic perfection.