Lyon Biennale of Contemporary Art opens with focus on heritage

The 18th Biennale of Contemporary Art in Lyon opened on September 19, 2026, under the theme ‘Passer d’un rêve à l’autre’ (Moving from one dream to another). Curated by Catherine Nichols, the event features 120 artists across eleven locations throughout Lyon and its metropolitan area, including the Musée des Tissus and the Croix-Rousse traboules.

The exhibition utilizes Lyon’s architectural heritage, specifically its ‘traboules’—historic corridors and passages—as a conceptual framework to explore themes of passage, exchange, labor, and alternative economies. The curation draws intellectual parallels between Lyon’s textile and industrial history and the philosophical studies of urban passages.