Lyon Contemporary Art Biennale: what is the outcome for its 17th edition?

With more than 24,000 m² of space invested and nearly 280 works presented by 80 artists from the four corners of the world, 17^e edition of the Lyon Contemporary Art Biennale offered a rich and diverse panorama of contemporary art, from September 21, 2024 to January 5, 2025.

Emblematic places such as the Grandes Locos in La Mulatière, the Maclyon, the Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie, the Grand Hôtel-Dieu, the Institute of Contemporary Art of Villeurbanne and the Bullukian Foundation have welcomed around a hundred new installationsincluding 70 produced specifically for the event.

On the public side, it was a great success. The Biennale welcomed more than 285,000 visitorsor around 10,000 more visitors than for the previous edition! 9,000 art professionals and journalists from around the world were also present for the event.

Lyon Contemporary Art Biennale: an ever more locally anchored event

If the Biennale attracts visitors from all over the worldit is always a resolutely local desire that the event takes place. Starting with support: public partners include the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region, the Métropole de Lyon and the City of Lyon, to which are added 40 private partners.

As for the works, fifteen participatory projects involved residents of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, in order to forge links between artists and amateurs. Among the municipalities involved in the initiative are Vaulx-en-Velin, Vénissieux and Écully, as well as Lyon districts such as Duchère Sauvegarde and Guillotière.

Furthermore, installations in public space in Lyonsuch as at the Gare Part-Dieu metro station, the LPA Saint-Antoine car park or even the garden of the Lyon Museum of Fine Arts, have enabled 2.7 million people to discover art outside traditional exhibition venues, in order to make the event more accessible.

For the next dates, go to the 21^e Dance Biennale from September 6 to 28, 2025with the famous parade scheduled for September 7, followed by Focus Pro from September 16 to 21. As for the next Contemporary Art Biennial, it is already scheduled for September 2026.