We couldn't have asked for anything better, by Agnan Kroichvili

Sometimes paths cross long before they actually meet.

Today, the Biennale explores forms of exchange, cooperation and care. These are familiar themes to me. My little figures are born of humble materials, scraps, traces and reworkings. They speak not of competition or accumulation, but of encounter. They move forward together, seek one another out, meet and find one another again.

Over the past few months, a new dialogue has begun. The little figures that populate my work have not simply been animated, reanimated or revived. They have become I@nimate. This shift from one sign to another is not merely a typographical game. It marks the encounter between figures, some of whom were created several decades ago, and the tools of today.

In this encounter with Alina Noir’s world, the body, dance and figures, in turn, engage in dialogue. Whilst her flowers question our relationship with the living world, my little figures continue their silent march. What was once a trace becomes movement; what seemed frozen sets time in motion once more.

Perhaps this, deep down, is true richness. And perhaps also the reason why we could not have dreamed of anything better.

Agnan Kroichvili

Opening on the 3rd October at 4pm

Réseau 12/12/12 MAPRAA / 6 ème édition 2026

As part of the 18th Lyon Contemporary Art Biennale, we are presenting the 6th edition of the MAPRAA 12/12/12 network. 12 artists / 12 venues / 12 departments.

Following the same principle as previous editions, during the Biennale and in connection and ‘resonance’ with it, MAPRAA is reviving this network of exhibitions across the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, featuring artists who have taken part in the MAPRAA exhibition cycle. However, this year, 12/12/12 – taking place against a particularly challenging backdrop for the visual arts – has been scaled back to 7/7/7.

Unfortunately, some venues that usually take part are not included in this edition. Their absence in no way reflects a lack of interest or commitment, but rather highlights the precarious realities facing many independent cultural venues today. Many venues are currently going through periods of uncertainty that limit their ability to take part in this kind of initiative, despite their fundamental role in the artistic ecosystem.

This programme therefore celebrates not only the venues that are present, but also those that have now disappeared or those that have been prevented from taking part, yet which continue nonetheless to embody the vitality and resilience of a cultural landscape that needs to be recognised, supported and preserved.

Alain LOVATO, President of MAPRAA