Paris – – September 10, 2026 -- The 18th Lyon Contemporary Art Biennale will open two professional accreditation days on September 17-18, 2026, granting industry access to 11 exhibition venues before the show opens to the public on September 19 and runs through December 13, 2026.
Professional accreditation grants early access to 120 artists' work across Lyon
Accreditation is mandatory and nominative for the September 17-18 professional days, with requests accepted through September 16, 2026. Accredited visitors gain access to the exhibition spaces during the trade days, the vernissage at Les Grandes Locos on September 18, and all venues during the first two public days, September 19-20. The professional program includes international meetings, networking sessions and artist dialogues, primarily staged at Les Grandes Locos.
Exhibition spans 11 venues with 120 artists and 400 works through December
Titled "Passer d'un rêve à l'autre / To pass from one dream to another," the edition is led by artistic director Isabelle Bertolotti with curator Catherine Nichols, under the general direction of Cécile Bourgeat. Three anchor sites structure the program: Les Grandes Locos, the macLYON contemporary art museum, and the Musée des Tissus et des Arts décoratifs. The remaining eight venues include the IAC/Frac Rhône-Alpes, the Musée des Confluences, the Fondation Bullukian, the Croix-Rousse traboules, a metro station at Gare Part-Dieu, and the Cour des Loges Radisson Collection Hotel, extending the exhibition into public and industrial spaces across the metropolis.
Public ticketing opens with a presale discount ending September 18
The Biennale Pass is priced at €20 during presale, versus €25 at full rate, with the discount period ending September 18, 2026 -- the day before public opening.
Artprice pairs the biennale with an 1,800-page open-access AI text
Alongside its long-standing support for the Lyon Biennale, Artprice and La Demeure du Chaos have released a free, 1,800-page raw typescript authored by Thierry Ehrmann, framed as a dialogue between a thinker and an artificial intelligence system. The text, described as open for exploration rather than consumption, is available without charge through Artprice's dedicated platform.