PRIMAVERA by Alina Noir

During my exhibition for the Lyon Biennale, the primary aim will be to encourage the public to interact with the artwork. The entire gallery space will serve as a backdrop for all the performances: an exuberant installation in brilliant colours that will evoke Primavera, the phantasmagorical painting by Botticelli from the dawn of the Renaissance.

At the heart of my artistic exploration lies the theme of behavioural deviations. By inviting reflection on both cultural traditions – their power, their complexity, their conflicts – and ecological concerns, my textile artefacts, whilst imitating natural beauty, examine the human condition in the face of Earth’s history. Somewhere between vanity and domesticity, these artificial flowers are the curiosities of an imaginary and extravagant herbarium.

From biological peril to a sense of circumstantial loneliness, the deterioration of our relationship with nature is dramatised in Primavera through this macabre floral choreography:

• through the presentation of ten large-scale oil paintings (120x160cm), directly inspired by the work of Botticelli, offering an immersive experience of this ‘madness of flowers’,
• through a dance performance, created for this occasion in collaboration with an American musician and a contemporary dancer,
• through a series of short improvised performances that I call ‘impressions’ – performances comprising multiple narrative episodes that I have been developing since 2023.

Alina Noir

Opening on the 3rd Ocotober 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