Reinventing Photography was born from a singular moment: a moment in which photography, on the occasion of the bicentenary of its invention, turns its gaze upon itself once again, questions its own history, and opens new possibilities. By bringing together the fifteen projects commissioned by the Cnap and the five winners of Hangar’s open call, Reinventing Photography forms a remarkably rich body of work. The artistic approaches are as diverse as the backgrounds, stories, and sensibilities that shape them. The exhibition does not claim to encompass all the themes that contemporary photography can address today; rather, it offers a journey—through time, through forms, and through ways of seeing, thinking, and making images. Through these twenty projects, the exhibition proposes not so much an exhaustive survey as a sensitive snapshot of contemporary photography: its concerns, its languages, its tensions, and its possible futures. Beyond national borders, and without seeking to define or oppose a Belgian scene and a French scene, Reinventing Photography brings together artists who are deeply committed both to their practice and to their exploration of the photographic medium.

Each inhabits photography with rigour, freedom, and humility. All seem driven by a shared pursuit: to honour its essence while pushing its boundaries, opening it to new uses, new gestures, and new narratives, without ever diminishing its power or singularity. To speak of the bicentenary of the invention of photography is inevitably to reflect on the time in which we stand. Is it the time of history? The time of creation? The time of the institutions that support artists? Perhaps it is, above all, the time that belongs to art itself: a time that escapes calendars, yet leaves its mark.

—Delphine Dumont, Director of Hangar

The 15 projects commissioned by the Cnap:
Mali Arun, François Bellabas, Lucien Bitaux, Marie Bovo, Anne-Lise Broyer, Gaëlle Choisne, Sybil Coovi Handemagnon, Isabelle Giovacchini, Laurent Lafolie, Laurent Millet, Constance Nouvel, Baptiste Rabichon, Michel Slomka, Stéphanie Solinas, Marie Sommer

The 5 projects selected through Hangar’s open call:
Julie Calbert, Lucas Leffler, Louis Lekien, Chrystel Mukeba, Sébastien Van Malleghem

Read more about the artists and their series on the Hangar website!

A commission from the French National Center for Visual Arts (Cnap), developed in dialogue with Hangar’s open call for projects and supported by the French Embassy in Brussels. This project has been awarded the “Bicentennial of Photography” label by the French Ministry of Culture and is part of the official Bicentennial program running from September 1, 2026, to September 30, 2027.