Stephen Cohen is the founder of photo l.a. and the Stephen Cohen Gallery, which is now the Cohen Gallery on Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles. In January the stalwart photo fair celebrates its 25th anniversary.

Artillery: Why did you start photo l.a.? What made you think it would work in Los Angeles, which has been notoriously difficult for art fairs?
COHEN: From 1985 I had been making twice-yearly cross-country sales trips from Los Angeles to New York City. Gradually my client list grew, and the trips were very successful. In 1991 I thought that if I organized a small photographic art fair it might attract a few hundred people, and I would build up a local collector list. I spent most of 1991 planning and organizing the first photo l.a.

Please describe the first fair.
From January 1992 to January 1999, photo l.a. was held at the Butterfield & Butterfield auction house on Sunset Boulevard—it’s now Bonhams. There were 25 exhibitors from around the country and one from Berlin. The Friday night opening reception was hosted by Graham Nash. Over 1500 people attended that weekend. I was hoping for 400 and was happily surprised. The exhibitors were happy with their sales, and almost everyone returned the next year when we had 30 exhibitors. We opened on a Thursday evening that extended the fair an additional day.

What are a few of the major changes that have occurred over the years?
By 1999, the last year at Butterfields, we had reached our physical limit with 40 galleries. Luckily, I was able to secure dates at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium for the 2000 fair. The exhibitor list grew to 62 and peaked at 87 in 2004. During the eight years at the Civic, there were more international galleries, and attendance continued to grow. By the time we moved to the Barker Hangar in 2009 and 2010, attendance grew to 10,000. In 2013 we moved to downtown Los Angeles to the LA Mart, which is now called The REEF. With 60,000 square-feet to work with, we were able to increase the sizes of booths, present more installations and increase the amount of programming. Since moving downtown, attendance has grown to over 12,000.

Have you seen an increase in the number of photography collectors? If so, why do you think that has occurred?
There are more collectors as photography has become not only an accepted art form, but an essential one in the current market. I think that photo l.a. has helped expand the numbers of people interested in photography. There has also been the growth of the number of galleries exhibiting photo-based work on a regular basis—as have the museums.

How is The REEF location working out? 
The REEF is terrific because of the 60,000 square-feet of space, its location just off the 10 Freeway and two large parking lots just out the front door. There are more restaurants, coffee shops, bars, smoke shops and people moving there to live, so it makes it a destination for locals and visitors to the city.

What will be new or different about the 25th edition?
We are very excited to be honoring James Welling and the installation of his new work. What’s different about the 25th edition is that I never expected to be celebrating the 25th anniversary of photo l.a. That we have helped create and nurture a growing community of those interested in photography— students, collectors, curators and gallerists—is not what I expected, but I’m really happy that it’s happened.