Magnum Presents: A World in Color
Join Magnum on a historic project to digitize the Paris color library archive, revealing unseen images from around the world along the way
Magnum Photos, in partnership with Fujifilm and MPP (Heritage and Photography Library of Paris), presents A World in Color, a historic project to digitize the agency’s Paris color library archive, which has remained dormant for decades.
Stowed away in the late 19th century Saint-Cyr fort are over 43,000 slide sheets, totaling approximately 650,000 color slides, dating from the 1950s to the early 2000s. Many of these images have remained — until now — unseen to the public eye, and untouched for over 20 years. With the help of Magnum’s Archive and Production teams, and the Fujifilm GFX 100 II medium-format digital camera, a selection of these exclusive images are finally being revealed to the public for the first time.
Preserving a Visual Time Capsule
Classified by Country, Theme and Personality, the vast color library archive in Paris embodies the pre-digital age of the agency — a portal back to the second half of the 20th century, when the press propelled the shift towards color. From momentous events to everyday gestures around the world, these images create a window to the past, enhancing our understanding of the evolution of color photography. Carefully digitizing and indexing the color slides, the teams are ensuring that the images are safeguarded for future generations.
“I’m hoping to see and rediscover iconic moments of history that made Magnum what Magnum is known for around the world,” says Pierre Mohamed-Petit, Magnum’s Digital Production Manager in Paris.
The project’s aim is threefold: to preserve and enrich the vital archives; to offer the public rare access to archived images that revive the past and shed light on the present; and to provide a historical, cultural, and educational resource across a diverse spectrum.
“[…] This project transforms the archive into a wellspring of opportunity — enhancing its value across press, editorial publications, and cultural partnerships. By uncovering unseen material, we open new doors for storytelling, collaboration, and creative exploration. Our commitment to preserving this unique photographic heritage ensures it remains an invaluable resource, honoring the past while inspiring future generations to learn from and build upon this vibrant visual history,” writes Marine Merindol, Chief Operating Officer at Magnum Photos.
Join Us Behind the Scenes
Every month throughout the year, Magnum is offering the public exclusive access to the digitization process with a new drop of unseen images from the Paris color library archive. Each monthly Image Reveal will be published across Magnum’s platforms, spotlighting a different country. Our first stop is Europe, home of the color library archive, and the journey begins in March with a focus on Czechia.
“We are very excited to know that some of the 650,000 images will now be brought to light and available to the public. This opens up an incredible window into the world and into our past — helping us understand our present. We would like to thank our partners for their interest and support, as well as for their solid contribution to our visual archive, which belongs to all of us.” writes Emin Özmen, vice president of Magnum’s longstanding Paris office.
Follow the project as it unfolds with Image Reveals from Italy, Belgium, the UK, France, Germany, and more.
Czechia Spotlight
The first Image Reveal, released on March 17 across Magnum’s online platforms, zooms in on Czechia from 1964 to the early 1990s, highlighting two pivotal post-war events: the Soviet Union invasion in 1968 and the Velvet Revolution in 1989. As a counterpart to Josef Koudelka and Ian Berry’s iconic black-and-white images of the Soviet invasion, the archive brings to light Marilyn Silverstone’s color series of Prague in 1968, a year after she became one of the first five women to join the agency.
Images by Bruno Barbey, Elliott Erwitt, Thomas Hoepker, Marc Riboud, and more complete the selection, documenting the dawn of a new era during the Velvet Revolution — a visual time capsule now seen in striking color.
A Series of European Events
In collaboration with long-term partners Fujifilm, a series of FUJIKINA events will take place in Czechia, Italy, Belgium, the UK, France, and Germany, showcasing live exhibitions and talks with Magnum photographers.
Each FUJIKINA offers an intimate look at the spotlighted country, tracing its history and culture over the decades. Viewers will discover unseen curated images from the archive along with a selection of original slide sheets. A Magnum photographer will also present a newly commissioned series of 10 images, using the latest Fujifilm GFX camera, in response to their experience exploring the archive.
“This new collaborative series with Magnum Photos is key to our mission. […] By using our GFX technology to digitize Magnum’s color library archive, we feel that we are helping to record a moment of history before it is lost — both the history of the countries we will be visiting with our FUJIKINA global events, and the history of photography itself,” writes Kunio Aoyama, General Manager of Fujifilm Europe.
The next FUJIKINA live events will take place in Milan, Italy with Alec Soth from May 10–11, and in Brussels, Belgium with Myriam Boulos from May 24–25.
To follow the series in real-time and be among the first to discover the unseen images revealed each month, subscribe to our newsletter.
Find our more about the project and live events here.
