An exhibition of new works by ten emerging artists, on view at the Institut d'art contemporain in Villeurbanne as part of the 18th Lyon Biennale – Contemporary Art. The jury includes Isabelle Bertolotti and Marilou Laneuville from macLYON.

For over twenty years, Jeune création internationale has placed emerging talent at the heart of the Lyon Biennale – Contemporary Art. Originally launched as Rendez-vous in 2002 by the Musée d’art contemporain de Lyon and École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts de Lyon, it was joined the following year by the Institut d’art contemporain and by la Biennale de Lyon itself in 2015. Jeune création internationale stands out as a distinctive platform within the French art scene, where professionalisation, production and dissemination are tightly interwoven to provide artists with a rigorous, supportive framework.

This unique initiative brings together around ten artists from both the regional and international art scenes for each edition, inviting them to produce new works under professional production and exhibition conditions. The format fosters close collaboration with the curatorial and technical teams, ensuring that each project benefits from production conditions tailored to the scale and ambition of the event.

The regional selection is drawn from an open call targeting artists connected to the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region, prioritising the quality of proposals and the maturity of their research. The artistic direction of Jeune création internationale comprises one representative each from la Biennale de Lyon, the Institut d’art contemporain / Frac Rhône-Alpes, macLYON, and a regional art school — this year, École supérieure d’art et de design Grenoble-Valence. For the jury, it is joined by Catherine Nichols, curator of the 18th Lyon Biennale, and two artists from previous editions: Camille Llobet and Viriya Chotpaniavisut.

The international selection is developed in collaboration with partner curators and institutions, promoting the circulation of practices and strengtheningprofessional networks.

Invited to produce directly at the Institut d’art contemporain / Frac Rhône-Alpes, the eleven artists develop their works in close proximity to their exhibition spaces. This seamless continuity between production and presentation aligns their practice with a process-oriented approach, echoing the thinking of artist Robert Filliou, for whom art was less about the object than the process itself.

The artists of the 2026 edition: Charles-Arthur Feuvrier Fok-Shan, Maja Fredin, Haonan He, Joyce Joumaa, Katariin Mudist, Valentin Pinet, Sirag Sesetyan, Floraine Sintès, Yehwan Song, Can Yıldırım & Lalin Mercan.

Artistic direction
Isabelle Bertolotti, artistic director | La Biennale de Lyon and director | Musée d'art contemporain de Lyon.
Jérôme Delormas, general director | École supérieure d’art et de design Grenoble-Valence.
Marilou Laneuville, head of exhibitions | Musée d’art contemporain de Lyon.
Isabelle Reiher, director | Institut d’art contemporain / Frac Rhône-Alpes.
Accompanied by Catherine Nichols, curator of the 18th Lyon Biennale – Contemporary Art.