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On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of photography in 2026, institutions worldwide are uniting to celebrate Joseph Nicéphore Niépce's groundbreaking invention, which permanently transformed the history of vision and image capture. The Mai Manó House joins the French state's initiative, presenting a year-long French-themed program series starting in September 2026 to honor the two-hundred-year legacy of photography.

For the first time in its history, our institution is dedicating an entire season to French photography. From September 2026 to September 2027, the exhibitions at the Mai Manó House will showcase the past and present of the medium through the works of classic and contemporary French photographers. Chapters of classical photo history will be represented by iconic photographs from Émile Zola, Nora Dumas, René Maltête, Jeanloup Sieff, André Kertész, Brassaï, and Janine Niépce, while 21st-century contemporary photography trends will be presented in a large-scale French group exhibition titled HEXAGON.

The international program series Celebrating Photography – Bicentennial of Photography aims to reinterpret and recontextualize the social, scientific, and artistic roles of photography. Throughout this special season, the Mai Manó House focuses on the spirit of French photography—its humanism, empathy, and depth of visual thinking—reflecting on the very tradition from which photography itself was born.

MAIN EXHIBITION SPACE

Zola, Photographer

September 3 – October 25, 2026

The exhibition Zola, Photographer presents Émile Zola's photographic work through more than one hundred works whose compositions, cropping, and motifs often connect to Impressionist painting. The exhibition reveals a lesser-known side of the renowned writer, one closely tied to his family and everyday life.

A Humanist Gaze – Rediscovering Nora Dumas

September 3 – October 25, 2026

Opening simultaneously with the Zola exhibition on the second floor, this exhibition offers insight into the oeuvre of Nora Dumas (1890–1979). Featuring photographs taken between the late 1920s and the 1950s, it captures both Parisian life and the French countryside. The exhibition aims to present this Hungarian-born photographer—who helped shape modern European visual culture yet was sidelined for a long time—as an independent, pioneering artist characterized by humanism, social sensitivity, and a refined formal vision.

Coincidence Caught in the Act – René Maltête

November 6, 2026 – January 17, 2027

René Maltête's humorous and ironic photographs conclude the year 2026 at the Mai Manó House, showcasing a unique vision that elevated everyday scenes of street life into singular, often absurd moments. A pivotal turning point in his career came when, after purchasing a camera in hopes of a serious photography career, he ultimately became famous precisely for his humorous series.

Anatomy of Desire – Jeanloup Sieff

January 29 – March 21, 2027

The opening exhibition of 2027 features iconic works by Jeanloup Sieff, a defining figure in fashion photography. His photographs bring the relationship between body, space, and perspective to the forefront, pushing the boundaries of photography with bold distortions and dynamic compositions.

Double Exposure – The France of Brassaï and Kertész

January 29 – March 21, 2027

This exhibition presents Parisian photography from the first half of the 20th century through the works of Brassaï and André Kertész, juxtaposing two distinct yet interacting artistic perspectives. Alongside Brassaï's dramatic images exposing the hidden side of the city, Kertész's lyrical photographs of everyday life are featured, summoning the diverse visual culture of Paris with rarely-seen prints.

Janine Niépce: The French

April 2 – May 23, 2027

Through decades of work by Janine Niépce, a descendant of the world's very first photographer, we can trace the transformation of post-WWII French society from rural everyday life to vibrant urban environments. This chronological selection pays special attention to modernization, the changing social roles of women, and intergenerational relationships, blending documentary precision with lyrical sensitivity.

HEXAGON – Contemporary French Photography

June 4 – August 22, 2027

The closing exhibition of our French Season showcases the diversity of contemporary French photography, bringing distinct artistic positions into dialogue across documentary and conceptual approaches. From the transformation of urban spaces to the relationship between nature and technology, as well as questions of identity, the show reflects on current social and environmental changes.

PROJECTLAB GALLERY

Mathias Depardon: Transanatolia

September 2 – November 1, 2026

Mathias Depardon’s series Transanatolia leads us through the peripheries of Turkey, where geographical, cultural, and political borderlands intersect. Created over several years, these documentary and lyrical images examine the changing nature of borders, questions of identity, and the natural and political roles of water.

Marine Lanier: Hannibal's Garden

November 5, 2026 – January 17, 2027

Marine Lanier’s series moves on the threshold between science and imagination, investigating ecological questions of a potential future through the plant world in the Alpine botanical garden Jardin du Lautaret. By evoking the figure of Hannibal, she draws parallels between historical military campaigns and today's struggle against climate change, presenting the garden simultaneously as a scientific laboratory and a symbolic space.

Nicolas Hermann: Salvia Divinorum

January 19 – March 21, 2027

Departing from the traditional frameworks of landscape photography, Nicolas Hermann's series Salvia Divinorum presents nature as a psychological and transcendent space. Dark, twilight tones, magnified botanical details, and imagery hinting at altered perceptions balance on the fine line between reality and vision.

Kathleen Missud: A Slice of Happiness

March 23 – May 23, 2027

Kathleen Missud’s series La Bonne Vie uses archival photographs of her grandfather, André, to evoke the simple pleasures of a life filled with travels, gatherings of friends, and everyday adventures. Playful, spontaneous, and often humorous, the images draw on the intimate language of the family album to show how personal memories can become the collective experience of an era.

Christopher Barraja: Endless Reflection

May 25 – July 18, 2027

Christopher Barraja's series De chlore et de rosé deconstructs the postcard-like idyll of the French Riviera, creating a sensual yet disquieting world by blurring bodies, water, concrete, and botanical forms. The photographs examine questions of desire, identity, and memory, while chlorine and rosé evoke the illusion of an artificially maintained summer paradise.

Léo Berne: Phenomenology of the Fleeting Moment

July 20 – September 12, 2027

Léo Berne’s series Je t’aime – Je t’aime understands photography not simply as a medium for capturing the moment, but as a way of perceiving time and memory. Shifting light, repetitions, and temporal slips create a dense, sensual landscape of time in which the viewer's attention and the act of looking itself become the central experience of the work.

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