Photo : Steve McCurry / Courtesy Polka Galerie
Steve McCurry. Immersion
Following Joel Meyerowitz, Polka dedicates the second edition of Immersion to Steve McCurry. At the crossroads of photographic exhibition and film, this original project invites you to enter the world of a photographer to better understand his work. Because behind the images that have traveled the world, a vision, a method, and a level of excellence emerge. And a certain idea of photography.
Polka Galerie (Paris 3rd)
About
In September 2026, Adélie de Ipanema, director of Polka, and producer-director Florent Lacaze spent three days in Pennsylvania with Steve McCurry. They followed him in his daily life, at the heart of his working world, his home, and even the streets of Philadelphia, to capture as closely as possible what nourishes his gaze and shapes his photographic style.
Four fifteen-minute films take us behind the scenes of Steve McCurry's work. From his studio, where photographs are selected and assembled to create a book or an exhibition, to his immense, nearly thousand-square-meter archive space, they reveal the photographer's working methods, his relationship with images, and the high standards that guide each of his choices.
Slides, prints, publications, and travel souvenirs tell the story of a life devoted to traveling the world and photographing it. In Philadelphia, the camera follows him through the streets. Steve McCurry observes, waits, sometimes lets go. He only triggers the shutter when a connection is formed with his subject. A reminder that, for him, photography is above all a matter of encounter.
On the walls of Polka, the prints resonate with the films screened simultaneously on monitors. The images take on another dimension in the light of these sequences filmed in close proximity to the photographer. The visitor thus discovers simultaneously a body of work, its construction, and the vision behind it.
The exhibition journeys through the territories that have nourished his work, from India, his heartland, to Pakistan, and the United States. From Taj and Train, created in 1983, to the portrait of Sharbat Gula, the young Afghan girl with green eyes who became the Mona Lisa of photography, the consistency of a body of work is revealed: the power of color, the precision of composition, and the intensity of the faces.
Steve McCurry established himself in the history of photography through his reportage, but his work today occupies a broader horizon.
With Immersion, Polka invites you to look differently at photographs that the whole world thinks it knows. A Steve McCurry photograph does not just tell of the world he traveled through. It also tells us something about our way of looking at it.
Our take on this event
Step into the creative world of a legendary photographer through an exhibition that blends iconic prints with exclusive behind-the-scenes footage. It is a rare chance to understand the precision and human connection that fuel the lens of one of the world's most observant storytellers.
Polka Galerie presents the exhibition Steve McCurry. Immersion from November 12, 2026, to January 16, 2027. This cultural event offers a unique look into the creative process of the renowned photographer, featuring four fifteen-minute films shot in Pennsylvania alongside a selection of iconic prints. You will explore his studio, his archives, and his methods while filming him at work in the streets of Philadelphia. Admission is completely free for everyone. It is an ideal opportunity to examine the consistency of a major body of work, from his historical shots in India and Pakistan to his rigorous composition, all within the 3rd arrondissement of Paris.
The exhibition Steve McCurry. Immersion turns Polka Galerie into a space for reflecting on photography. From Tuesday to Saturday, between 11:00 and 19:00, the public is invited to explore the behind-the-scenes of the artist's work. The exhibition is structured around four fifteen-minute films shot in Pennsylvania, showing McCurry in his studio, among his vast archives, and working on the streets of Philadelphia. These sequences reveal his meticulous nature and patience, showing how he establishes a connection with his subjects before capturing a shot.
On the walls, prints engage in a dialogue with the video projections. You will see striking images, from the iconic portrait of the Afghan girl Sharbat Gula to railway scenes in India. The exhibition highlights the chromatic power and compositional precision that define his style. The collection covers the geographies that shaped his career, from Pakistan to the United States, as well as his beloved territories.
The event is open to the public for free from November 12, 2026, to January 16, 2027. Located in the Cour de Venise in the 3rd arrondissement, the gallery offers a total immersion where photographic work is enriched by an understanding of the artist's creative process.
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