A World in Color: Magnum Photos is revealing hidden treasures from its archive

Magnum Photos, a cooperative agency since 1947, boasts an extensive photographic archive covering a vast range of global events. Naturally, much of that collection is film, with images that haven't seen the light of day in some time. The agency aims to address this with its newly launched "A World in Color" project, aiming to digitize its Paris color library archive. The French color library, housed in the historic Saint-Cyr Fort in Paris's suburbs, contains over 43,000 slide sheets—approximately 650,000 color slides—from the 1950s to the early 2000s. Organized by country, theme, and personality, these images provide a valuable historical record of the second half of the 20th century. Photo: Magnum Photos Some of the slide cabinets have remained untouched for 20 years, potentially holding surprises. The French color library represents the lesser-seen works of Magnum's members, including images from the foundational years of photography, making digitization and preservation particularly meaningful. "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,” notes Marine Merindol, Chief Operating Officer at Magnum Photos. The project is supported by Magnum's long-term partner, Fujifilm, and the Médiathèque du Patrimoine et de la photographie (MPP). With that support, the Magnum Archive and Production teams will digitize each sheet of color slides to identify and index every image. Given that Fujifilm is a partner for the project, it shouldn't be much of a surprise that the digitization process will happen with the Fujifilm GFX 100 II medium format camera. Photo: Magnum Photos The Magnum teams will work through the collection country by country, starting with a focus on Europe. Each month, they will share a new selection of images from a different country. The first batch highlights Czechia, featuring images from the 1960s to the 1990s, including 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 from the Prague Uprising in 1968, the archive now reveals a new perspective in color from Marilyn Silverstone, a year after she became one of the first five women to join Magnum as a Member," explains Magnum. There are also images by Elliott Erwitt, Thomas Hoepker, Marc Riboud and more. You can follow along on the Magnum website or its social media platforms. In addition to the online content, Magnum will be hosting six in-person events across Europe as part of Fujifilm’s Fujikina events, starting with Prague, where Fujifilm just hosted an event to announce the GFX100RF. The Prague event is on display from March 22–23, with images curated by Magnum photographer Rafał Milach. MAGNUM PRESENTS: A WORLD IN COLOR Magnum Photos embarks on a historic project to digitize the agency’s Paris color library archive, which has remained dormant for decades. Stored away at the historical Saint-Cyr Fort in the suburbs of Paris lies Magnum’s colossal French color library archive. Over 43,000 slide sheets, totaling approximately 650,000 color slides dating from the 1950s to the early 2000s, are estimated to be held there. Classified by Country, Theme and Personality, many of these images have remained, until now, unseen to the public eye. Revisiting the unexplored cabinets today is a step back into the workings of Magnum Photos as an agency in the pre-digital age, as well as a historical visual record of the second half of the 20th century. Preserving the Magnum Archive In January 2025, Magnum Photos began the monumental project of digitizing the color library archive, both as a step to preserve Magnum’s legacy for future generations and to unearth the unseen color images that have been hidden away for decades. With the support of long-term partners Fujifilm and the Médiathèque du Patrimoine et de la photographie (MPP), the Magnum Archive and Production teams will revisit the full archive and digitize each sheet of color slides, before identifying and indexing the unseen images, ensuring that they are preserved correctly for future generations. An Invitation Behind the Scenes Working country by country, the teams will begin by focusing on Europe, home of the color archive. Throughout the year, Magnum invites the public to join them behind the scenes in the digitization process, using the Fujifilm GFX 100 II medium-format digital camera. Every month, a new selection of unseen images will be unveiled, each reveal focusing on a different country. Six unique in-person activations will also take place across Europe as part of Fujifilm’s FUJIKINA events, giving the public the opportunity to discover a further selection of curated unseen images, as well as the physical slide sheets themselves, with the original photographer and editor annotations preserved. Beginnin

Mar 21, 2025 - 14:26

A World in Color: Magnum Photos is revealing hidden treasures from its archive

Magnum Photos, a cooperative agency since 1947, boasts an extensive photographic archive covering a vast range of global events. Naturally, much of that collection is film, with images that haven't seen the light of day in some time. The agency aims to address this with its newly launched "A World in Color" project, aiming to digitize its Paris color library archive.

The French color library, housed in the historic Saint-Cyr Fort in Paris's suburbs, contains over 43,000 slide sheets—approximately 650,000 color slides—from the 1950s to the early 2000s. Organized by country, theme, and personality, these images provide a valuable historical record of the second half of the 20th century.

Photo: Magnum Photos

Some of the slide cabinets have remained untouched for 20 years, potentially holding surprises. The French color library represents the lesser-seen works of Magnum's members, including images from the foundational years of photography, making digitization and preservation particularly meaningful. "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,” notes Marine Merindol, Chief Operating Officer at Magnum Photos.

The project is supported by Magnum's long-term partner, Fujifilm, and the Médiathèque du Patrimoine et de la photographie (MPP). With that support, the Magnum Archive and Production teams will digitize each sheet of color slides to identify and index every image. Given that Fujifilm is a partner for the project, it shouldn't be much of a surprise that the digitization process will happen with the Fujifilm GFX 100 II medium format camera.

Photo: Magnum Photos

The Magnum teams will work through the collection country by country, starting with a focus on Europe. Each month, they will share a new selection of images from a different country. The first batch highlights Czechia, featuring images from the 1960s to the 1990s, including 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 from the Prague Uprising in 1968, the archive now reveals a new perspective in color from Marilyn Silverstone, a year after she became one of the first five women to join Magnum as a Member," explains Magnum. There are also images by Elliott Erwitt, Thomas Hoepker, Marc Riboud and more.

You can follow along on the Magnum website or its social media platforms. In addition to the online content, Magnum will be hosting six in-person events across Europe as part of Fujifilm’s Fujikina events, starting with Prague, where Fujifilm just hosted an event to announce the GFX100RF. The Prague event is on display from March 22–23, with images curated by Magnum photographer Rafał Milach.

MAGNUM PRESENTS: A WORLD IN COLOR

Magnum Photos embarks on a historic project to digitize the agency’s Paris color library archive, which has remained dormant for decades.

Stored away at the historical Saint-Cyr Fort in the suburbs of Paris lies Magnum’s colossal French color library archive. Over 43,000 slide sheets, totaling approximately 650,000 color slides dating from the 1950s to the early 2000s, are estimated to be held there. Classified by Country, Theme and Personality, many of these images have remained, until now, unseen to the public eye. Revisiting the unexplored cabinets today is a step back into the workings of Magnum Photos as an agency in the pre-digital age, as well as a historical visual record of the second half of the 20th century.

Preserving the Magnum Archive

In January 2025, Magnum Photos began the monumental project of digitizing the color library archive, both as a step to preserve Magnum’s legacy for future generations and to unearth the unseen color images that have been hidden away for decades. With the support of long-term partners Fujifilm and the Médiathèque du Patrimoine et de la photographie (MPP), the Magnum Archive and Production teams will revisit the full archive and digitize each sheet of color slides, before identifying and indexing the unseen images, ensuring that they are preserved correctly for future generations.

An Invitation Behind the Scenes

Working country by country, the teams will begin by focusing on Europe, home of the color archive. Throughout the year, Magnum invites the public to join them behind the scenes in the digitization process, using the Fujifilm GFX 100 II medium-format digital camera. Every month, a new selection of unseen images will be unveiled, each reveal focusing on a different country. Six unique in-person activations will also take place across Europe as part of Fujifilm’s FUJIKINA events, giving the public the opportunity to discover a further selection of curated unseen images, as well as the physical slide sheets themselves, with the original photographer and editor annotations preserved. Beginning in March with Czechia, this year will also see exclusive reveals of unseen images from Italy, Belgium, the UK, France, Germany, and more, with aspirations to move beyond Europe and to the United States in 2026.

A Visual Time Capsule

The color archive has aged to represent a time capsule — a portal back to the second half of the 20th century, with many of the cabinets remaining untouched for over 20 years. The images revealed through this project represent the power of photography to bring the past to life, but they also revisit the lesser-seen archives of Magnum’s photographer Members, and the foundational years in the history of photography itself.

"With A World in Color, we celebrate a visual treasure trove too often overlooked: the color slides from Magnum’s vast archives. Developed in collaboration with Fujifilm and MPP, 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.

"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, well as their solid contribution to our visual archive, which belongs to all of us." writes Emin Özmen, vice president of Magnum’s longstanding Paris office.

A New Chapter for Magnum and Fujifilm

A World in Color marks a new chapter for the long-term collaboration between Magnum and Fujifilm, offering the photographic community a rare glimpse into the unseen images of Magnum’s color archive, as well as a newly commissioned, exclusive series by Magnum photographers for each country, made in response to the archive, and shot using the Fujifilm GFX camera.

A series of exhibitions and talks will take place in six European countries throughout the year with Fujifilm’s traveling FUJIKINA global events, starting in Prague in March. Each exhibition, unique to that country, features unseen images from the same geography, tracing its history and culture during the 20th century, alongside the new series made in response to the archive. The Magnum photographer commissioned for each country will be present throughout the weekend, and will give a talk around their practice.

"This new collaborative series with Magnum Photos is key to our mission of contributing to the production and history of photography as it develops over the decades. No camera can shoot the past, and our inability to turn back time is central to the human desire to capture moments and memories through photography today. We are excited to be part of this project, which 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," writes Kunio Aoyama, General Manager of Fujifilm Europe.

Chapter One: Czechia

The first drop of unseen images will be published on the Magnum website (magnumphotos.com) and social media platforms on March 17. The selection zooms in on Czechia from the 1960s to the 1990s, featuring 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 from the Prague Uprising in 1968, the archive now reveals a new perspective in color from Marilyn Silverstone, a year after she became one of the first five women to join Magnum as a Member. Images by Elliott Erwitt, Thomas Hoepker, Marc Riboud, and more follow suit, documenting the dawn of a new era following the Velvet Revolution — a visual journey from the deep reds of communism to the vivid blue, red and white of the independent Czech flag, now seen in striking color.

To launch the series of in-person events across Europe, the first FUJIKINA will take place in Prague from March 22–23, with Czechia as the focus. Curated by Magnum photographer Rafał Milach, the exhibition will present 10 unseen images and a number of slide sheets from the Magnum color library archive. Milach, in response to his findings in the color library archive, has also made a new series of 10 images in Czechia using a Fujifilm GFX camera, and will be hosting a talk during the weekend. Further FUJIKINA events will take place throughout the year in Milan, Brussels, London, Arles, and Germany.

Visit https://store.magnumphotos.com/pages/a-world-in-color or connect with Magnum Photos on Instagram to follow the digitization project in real-time and be among the first to discover the drop of unseen images each month.