LOS ANGELES, CA.- artfairs inc. is pleased to announce that photo l.a. 2009, the 18th Annual International Los Angeles Photographic Art Exposition and the largest exhibition of its kind in the United States, will take place from January 9-11, 2009 at the historic Barker Hangar at the Santa Monica Airport. photo l.a. 2009 will feature the finest photographic art on display and for sale, from the earliest 19th Century photographic experiments to the most contemporary photography and photo-based art. Seventy of the world’s leading galleries and private dealers representing International and U.S.-based artists will display work at photo l.a. 2009. The fair begins with an opening night reception benefiting the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) Photography Department on January 8 from 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm. Public hours are Friday, January 9 and Saturday, January 10, from 12:00 pm – 8:00 pm; and Sunday, January 11, from 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm. Tickets are $20 for a two-day pass, and $30 for a three-day pass.

“We are pleased to be teaming up with LACMA this year. Los Angeles is the creative hub for artists and a major creative center in terms of the production of contemporary photography. Together with LACMA, we are planning a number of special programs for our visitors, featuring some of today’s most renowned artists,” says Stephen Cohen, president of artfairs inc. and director of photo l.a. “photo l.a. continues to grow each year, with an increasing number of new and returning exhibitors and visitors. This year, the Barker Hangar will serve as a prime space for the fair to present its largest collection of Los Angeles based artists and international exhibitors,” he continued.

Programming highlights at photo l.a. 2009 include LACMA Artist Conversation Series & Book Signings with Charlotte Cotton, LACMA’s Head and Curator of the Wallis Annenberg Photography Department, on Saturday, January 10, from 12:00pm–6:00 pm. Cotton will speak with leading photographers, including David Maisel (12:00pm–1:30pm), Susan Meiselas (2:00pm–3:00pm), Bruce Davidson (3:30pm–4:30pm), and Diane Keaton & Marvin Heiferman (5:00pm–6:00pm) to discuss their new publications. Book signings with the photographers will follow each conversation. Highly acclaimed photographer and UCLA professor, Catherine Opie, is also scheduled to lecture at photo l.a. on January 11, beginning at 1:00 pm at the Ruskin Group Theater, adjacent to the fair (3000 Airport Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90405). Opie currently has a major retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, and recently published a catalogue of her photographic works.

Among the 70 select U.S. and international galleries exhibiting at photo l.a. are: Ace Gallery (Los Angeles), Joseph Bellows Gallery (La Jolla), Stephen Cohen Gallery (Los Angeles), Charles Cowles Gallery (New York), Stephen Daiter (Chicago), Michael Dawson Gallery (Los Angeles), Foley Gallery (New York), Gitterman Gallery (New York), Paul M. Jertzmann Inc. (San Francisco), Flo Peters Gallery (Hamburg), Janet Sirmon Fine Art (Brooklyn), TZR Galerie (Duesseldorf), and Winterworks on Paper (Brooklyn).

photo l.a. is organized by artfairs, inc., producers of the globally acclaimed photography and contemporary art fairs including ART LA and photo MIAMI. For a complete list of exhibitors and additional information on photo l.a., visit www.artfairsinc.com/photola/2009/ or call (323)937-4659.