The 18th Lyon Biennale – Contemporary Art will open to the public on Sept. 19, 2026, bringing 120 artists and 400 works to 11 locations across Lyon and its metropolitan area. Running through Dec. 13, the exhibition will place contemporary art in museums, former industrial buildings, heritage sites and everyday transit spaces, including a metro station and a public car park.
Organizers have scheduled two professional preview days on Sept. 17 and Sept. 18, giving accredited artists, curators, gallerists, museum directors, collectors and cultural-sector workers early access before the public opening. The previews culminate with an invitation-only opening reception at Les Grandes Locos on the evening of Sept. 18.
The 2026 edition, titled Passer d'un rêve à l'autre / To pass from one dream to another, is under the artistic direction of Bertolotti and curated by Nichols. Its route places three venues at the center of the program: Les Grandes Locos, the Musée d'art contemporain de Lyon (macLYON), and the Musée des Tissus et des Arts décoratifs.
Professional previews extend into the opening weekend
Professional accreditation applications remain open until Sept. 16, according to the Biennale’s organizers. Accredited visitors will be able to visit the exhibition sites during both preview days, then return during the first two days of the public program, Sept. 19 and Sept. 20.
That structure gives art professionals an extended window to see installations and exhibitions before the full flow of public visitors arrives. For galleries, curators and institutions, preview days often provide time for meetings, discussions with artists and closer consideration of work spread across a large number of sites.
The Sept. 18 reception at Les Grandes Locos is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. and is open by invitation. Les Grandes Locos, a former industrial complex, is among the Biennale’s principal locations and will serve as a focal point for the opening events.
Public visitors will be able to buy a Biennale Pass in advance for €20 until Sept. 18, compared with a regular price of €25. The pass is intended to support navigation of an edition built around multiple sites rather than a single exhibition hall.
Eleven locations reshape the exhibition route
The Biennale’s venue list ranges from established cultural institutions to locations embedded in Lyon’s streets and transport network. Alongside Les Grandes Locos, macLYON and the Musée des Tissus et des Arts décoratifs, the program includes the Musée des Confluences, the Fondation Bullukian and the IAC – Institut d'art contemporain / Frac Rhône-Alpes.
Several works will also appear in less conventional settings: the Traboules des pentes de la Croix-Rousse, the Jardin du Musée des Beaux-Arts, Parking LPA Saint-Antoine, Metro Line B’s Gare Part-Dieu station, and Cour des Loges, A Radisson Collection Hotel.
The distribution creates a citywide itinerary rather than a conventional museum visit. Audiences will encounter works in places associated with art collections and historic architecture, but also in spaces built for movement, parking and tourism. Metro Line B’s Gare Part-Dieu station, for example, places part of the exhibition within one of Lyon’s major transport corridors, where passengers may encounter the Biennale outside the usual context of a ticketed cultural venue.
The inclusion of the traboules — Lyon’s historic covered passageways — also connects the contemporary program to a setting shaped by the city’s architectural identity. Meanwhile, the Musée des Tissus et des Arts décoratifs introduces a site associated with material culture, design and textile history, offering a different context for the Biennale’s contemporary commissions and presentations.
A three-month program across Lyon’s cultural institutions
The nearly three-month schedule gives the Biennale time to serve several audiences with different ways of moving through the program. Visitors can concentrate on the three main sites, while returning attendees and local residents may follow the wider route through public and heritage locations over multiple visits.
The 120 participating artists and 400 works indicate a program of substantial scale, although organizers have not detailed the allocation of works among the 11 venues in the information released so far. The format places particular emphasis on the relationship between exhibition-making and urban circulation: seeing the Biennale may involve moving between galleries, museums, streets, hotel spaces and public infrastructure.
Lyon Biennale’s choice to spread programming across sites in Lyon and the metropolitan area also gives each venue a distinct role. macLYON provides an established contemporary-art museum setting, while Les Grandes Locos brings the industrial character of its site into the event’s visual geography. The Musée des Tissus et des Arts décoratifs adds a historic collection-based environment to a program otherwise extending into temporary and public-facing spaces.
Professional visitors seeking accreditation can contact the Biennale office at info@labiennaledelyon.com or +33 (0)4 27 46 65 67. Organizers also list Ehrmann as a separate contact at ehrmann@labiennaledelyon.com.
With the public opening set for Sept. 19, the edition’s first weekend will test the practical appeal of its dispersed format. The Biennale’s route turns Lyon itself into part of the exhibition experience, asking visitors to move between institutions and ordinary urban settings rather than encounter all 400 works under one roof.
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