In autumn 2026, in the wake of the Venice Biennale, the Lyon Biennale of Contemporary Art establishes itself as one of the major events on the international artistic calendar.
As France's leading contemporary art event, each edition brings together nearly 300,000 visitors and generates more than 2.7 million encounters with artworks in public space, affirming a unique model in which artistic production, dissemination, territorial engagement and international reach converge on a large scale.
More than an exhibition, the Lyon Biennale now constitutes an international platform of influence, situated at the intersection of artistic scenes, institutions, collectors, foundations, professionals and global economic dynamics.
18th Lyon Biennale of Contemporary Art
Passer d'un rêve à l'autre / To pass from one dream to another
Lyon, France | September 19 - December 13, 2026
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18th Lyon Biennale Contemporary Art - 2026
After Venice, Lyon: a new centre of gravity for the global art scene
The 18th Lyon Biennale of Contemporary Art will take place at the heart of autumn 2026, at a strategic moment within the international contemporary art calendar. It extends, shifts and reactivates the major artistic conversations initiated in Venice, grounding them within a singular territory: Lyon, a city of passages, exchanges and transformations.
Within this urban, historical and economic geography, the Biennale transforms Lyon into a full-scale space for experimentation, where artworks engage in dialogue with heritage, industrial, museum and public sites.
Catherine Nichols: an international curatorial voice on the rise
The 18th edition is entrusted to Catherine Nichols, a Berlin-based curator, writer and art historian. She was recently appointed Artistic Director of Manifesta, within the framework of a new co-directorship model that will come into effect from October 2026 onward.
With Passer d'un rêve à l'autre, Catherine Nichols develops an ambitious project centred on the notion of "poetic economy," inspired by Robert Filliou. Here, the economy is not approached merely as a financial system: it becomes a sensitive infrastructure composed of relationships, flows, narratives, visible and invisible labour, and material as well as immaterial values.
Rooted in Lyon's history - a city shaped by commerce, circulation, silk production, industry and confluences - this reflection takes on both a local and profoundly global dimension.
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Catherine Nichols, Isabelle Bertolotti - Photo: Blandine Soulage
An expanded artistic cartography: new scenes, new narratives
Bringing together more than 70 international artists, this edition is distinguished by a strong openness toward artistic scenes still insufficiently represented in Europe, particularly from Australia and New Zealand, and spanning more than thirty nationalities. These territories engage in dialogue with the French and European scenes within a framework that brings together major figures, established artists and emerging voices.
The Biennale thus constructs an expanded artistic cartography in which questions of value, care, heritage, production and transformation run across practices, generations and geographies.
Artists - (full list to be completed in June)
Akwasi Bediako Afrane, Lara Almarcegui, Joël Andrianomearisoa, Serwah Attafuah, Béatrice Balcou, Eva Barto, Lucy Beech, Rossella Biscotti, Barbara Breitenfellner, Yuriyal Eric Bridgeman, Sara Sejin Chang (Sara van der Heide), Fiona Clark, Lua Coderch, Léa Collet, June Crespo, cyan, Edith Dekyndt, Huong Dodinh, Yana Nafysa Dombrowsky-M'baye, Mikala Dwyer, Robert Filliou, Florian Fouché, Rose Frigière, Angela Goh, Birke Gorm, Nuria Güell, Alice Guy, Oda Haliti, Archana Hande, Matthew Harris, Timo Hogan, Ngahina Hohaia, Jelena Jureša, Lucia Kagramanyan, Kirtika Kain, Mikhail Karikis, Ndayé Kouagou, Perrine Lacroix, Maureen Lander, Ida Lawrence, James Lewis, LYL Radio, Kokou Ferdinand Makouvia, Nicholas Mangan, Angelica Mesiti, Hana Mileti?, Hayley Millar Baker, Jazz Money, Mai Nguyen-Long, Manfred Paul, Thea Anamara Perkins, Susan Philipsz, Laure Prouvost, raumlaborberlin, Miguel Rothschild, Selma Selman, Erwan Séné, Igor Šimi?, Sriwhana Spong, Tina Stefanou, Mette Sterre, Michael Stevenson, Pol Taburet, Huda Takriti, Tsuneko Taniuchi, Ashleigh Taupaki, Minh Lan Tran, Thu-Van Tran, Álvaro Urbano, Kaylene Whiskey, Luke Willis Thompson, Candrani Yulis.
Exhibition venues
macLYON - Museum of Contemporary Art
Les Grandes Locos
Museum of Textiles and Decorative Arts
Traboules of the Croix-Rousse slopes - free access
Garden of the Museum of Fine Arts - free access
IAC - Institute of Contemporary Art / Frac Rhône-Alpes
Musée des Confluences
Bullukian Foundation - free access
LPA Saint-Antoine car park - free access
Metro line B station - Gare Part-Dieu
An international platform for production and influence
The Lyon Biennale is simultaneously a site for the production of new works, an international professional hub and a space for reflection on contemporary transformations. It is embedded within a global network, notably through the International Biennial Association, and each edition welcomes artists, curators, institutions, foundations, partners and art market actors.
Through its artistic projects, professional programmes, international collaborations, mediation initiatives and participatory projects, the Lyon Biennale asserts a singular model: a leading event open to the widest possible audience and fully engaged with the issues of its time.
Key dates
September 16-18, 2026: Press Days
September 17-18, 2026: Professional Days
September 18, 2026: Preview / Opening
September 19, 2026: Public Opening
December 13, 2026: Closing Date
About the Lyon Biennale
For more than forty years, the Lyon Biennale has organised two major events on the cultural scene in France and internationally: the Biennale of Contemporary Art and the Dance Biennale.
As the institution responsible for the conception, programming and implementation of these two events, the Lyon Biennale is today recognised as one of the major international events dedicated to contemporary creation. It enjoys strong recognition among professionals, the press and audiences alike.
Its commitment is based on four core missions: an ethical mission, through the development of a sensitive relationship to the world via visual arts and dance; a social mission, through openness to all audiences and the creation of social bonds; an economic mission, through its contribution to the visibility and attractiveness of the territory; and a CSR mission, through a socially responsible approach toward all its stakeholders.
Creativity, excellence, rigour, solidarity, social diversity and inclusivity lie at the heart of the Lyon Biennale project.
Governance
President: Laurent Bayle
Chief Executive Officer: Cécile Bourgeat
Artistic Director of the Lyon Biennale of Contemporary Art: Isabelle Bertolotti
Curator: Catherine Nichols
The 2026 Lyon Biennale embodies a unique model and has established itself as a must-attend event on the international scene. Twenty-six years after their first collaboration, Artprice by Artmarket and La Demeure du Chaos are partnering with the 18th Lyon Biennale.
A must-attend event on the international Art calendar, the Lyon Biennale has established itself, following in Venice's footsteps, as much more than an exhibition: a platform of influence where artists, institutions, collectors, foundations, and key players in the global Art Market converge.
Twenty-six years after "Partage d'Exotisme"- the legendary 2000 Biennial curated by Jean-Hubert Martin, which served as a follow-up to his famous 1989 exhibition "Les Magiciens de la Terre" at the Centre Georges Pompidou and caused a sensation in the West. This Biennial brought together Artprice by Artmarket and La Demeure du Chaos as patrons for the first time. In 2026, they will once again join the Lyon Contemporary Art Biennial as committed partners for its 18th edition.
Thierry Ehrmann, founder of Artprice, president of Artmarket, and visual artist for over four decades, creator of La Demeure du Chaos - officially recognized on March 20, 2025 as a "Total Work of Art" by Minister of Culture Rachida Dati, applauds the significance of this Biennale of Contemporary Art, which engages with the geographical and economic characteristics of the city of Lyon.
It is in this spirit that the two entities are joining forces to support the work of Selma Selman, an artist who employs performance, painting, photography, and video to embody the struggles of her community, questioning the value of labor, objects, and bodies. She extracts the hidden poetry from industrial materials - and reminds us that beauty, too, is born of Chaos.
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