Aldeide Delgado on WOPHA’s French Connections and What’s Next
Aldeide Delgado. Photo by Gaby Ojeda
A valued partner of Villa Albertine Miami and the founder of the Women Photographers International Archive (WOPHA), Aldeide Delgado has spent more than a decade championing women photographers and expanding opportunities for their careers. Since launching WOPHA in 2013, she has built lasting ties with France through the organization’s international, photography-focused mission.
In this interview, Delgado reflects on WOPHA’s collaborations with French partners, the impact of these transatlantic connections, and her vision for the organization’s future.
- You are currently in France and very involved with key partners such as AWARE, Cité internationale des arts, Paris Photo, or Les Rencontres d’Arles, can you tell us more about the connections you are building and the perspectives or opportunities that are emerging from these partnerships?
It is very special to be in Paris through the Bakehouse x Cité internationale des arts residency awarded to WOPHA’s co-founder, Francisco Maso, particularly as France prepares for the year-long commemoration of the bicentenary of photography. This celebration offers an important opportunity to reflect on the medium, revisit its histories, and honor its practitioners. Within this context, I’m especially interested in collaborating with leading institutions to present women photographers and cultural practitioners whose work expands prevailing understandings of photography.
I recently organized A Caribbean Reasoning at the Cité, an informal gathering that brought together artists in residence, students, and local photographers to share work, recent readings, and reflections in an intimate setting. It became a meaningful space for dialogue on the ways the Caribbean has shaped photographic histories and contemporary practices. This first gathering will be followed by a panel discussion titled Sailing Through the Abyss on July 9, 2026, at the École Nationale Supérieure de la Photographie, on the occasion of Les Rencontres d’Arles. Among the panelists are Rose Marie Cromwell, a Miami-based artist and WOPHA’s 2026 Artist in Residence; Nathyfa Michel, who participated in our 2024 Congress and completed her residency in Miami last year in partnership with El Espacio 23 and La Station Culturelle; and Magali Paulin, an artist of Martinican descent, graduate of the École Nationale Supérieure de la Photographie, and former resident at the Cité internationale des arts.
These international collaborations are made possible through the long-term support of our Miami partners, including Villa Albertine, the CreARTE program of the Pérez Family Foundation, the Green Family Foundation, PAMM’s Caribbean Cultural Institute, and our board of directors.
- What projects, events, or initiatives are planned for this fall in Miami? Will any of these offer an opportunity to highlight artists from France?
This fall, we are organizing our first international trip to Paris Photo. We are inviting photography enthusiasts, collectors, philanthropists, artists, and cultural leaders to join us as we celebrate the bicentenary of photography and women’s contributions to the medium. Through private receptions, curator-led tours, studio visits, intimate conversations, and exclusive cultural experiences, participants will gain a deeper understanding of the people, ideas, and networks that shape the international photography ecosystem.
As part of the program, we are partnering with the Cité internationale des arts to organize visits to artists’ studios, allowing participants to engage directly with artists based in France. We are also delighted that Anna Planas, Artistic Director of Paris Photo, is serving as a juror for WOPHA’s 2026 Artist in Residence open call and as a faculty member in our course Collecting Photography Beyond the Canon, which runs from September through October 2026. As we plan the 2027 WOPHA Congress, I’m confident these partnerships will lead to exhibitions, residencies, and other initiatives bringing France-based artists to Miami.
- How has Villa Albertine supported and accompanied your work over the past few years? Could you share a few recent examples of that collaboration?
We have built a very strong relationship with Villa Albertine since 2021, when you supported the inaugural WOPHA Congress. Since then, that collaboration has continued to grow. Artists I have already mentioned, such as Nathyfa Michel, Simone Lagrand, Cédrine Scheidig, whom I recently invited to participate in A Caribbean Reasoning at the Cité, and Adeline Rapon, who participated in the 2024 WOPHA Congress and was recently awarded a 2027 Villa Albertine residency with WOPHA as one of the supporting institutions, all reflect the impact of this long-term collaboration.
I also hold dear your support for On the Edge of Visibility, the symposium we organized in partnership with AWARE at PAMM in 2023 and the research workshop First Was the Abyss at the Brooklyn Museum in 2025. Villa Albertine has been essential to the cultural dialogue we continue establishing between France, Miami, and the Caribbean. I look forward to continuing to build this relationship together in the years ahead.