LYON.- La Biennale de Lyon announces the appointment of Hélia Paukner as Artistic Director of the Contemporary Art Biennale. She succeeds Isabelle Bertolotti, who has held the position since 2018. Hélia Paukner will also become Director of macLYON – Lyon’s Museum of Contemporary Art, continuing the longstanding relationship between the two institutions.

This dual appointment marks a new chapter for the Lyon Contemporary Art Biennale, a major event on the international art scene that has championed contemporary artistic creation in France and abroad for nearly forty years.

Selected following a recruitment process led by the City of Lyon, in partnership with the French Ministry of Culture, the Métropole de Lyon and La Biennale de Lyon, Hélia Paukner will take up her roles on 1 February 2027.

A career spanning contemporary art and international collaboration

Hélia Paukner brings extensive knowledge of the French art scene and wide-ranging international networks. Her career reflects a sustained commitment to contemporary art, curatorial practice and the development of artistic collaborations.

Having previously served as research assistant to the director at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, she went on to develop her expertise within a range of institutions and programmes supporting artistic creation. She has served on selection panels for art schools and artist residencies, and contributed to the allocation of artistic creation grants awarded by the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs (DRAC) between 2020 and 2025.

Since 2019, she has served as Curator and Head of Contemporary Art at Mucem – the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations, a national museum of cultural anthropology in Marseille that places social issues and contemporary art at the heart of its mission.

A new perspective for the Contemporary Art Biennale

Hélia Paukner’s vision combines artistic excellence, an international outlook and strong local roots.

Her experience of cultural collaboration and international artistic networks will be an asset in supporting the development of the Lyon Contemporary Art Biennale, strengthening exchanges between art scenes and fostering the circulation of artists, artworks and knowledge.

This appointment reflects a commitment to sustaining the close ties between the Biennale and macLYON, two complementary institutions that contribute to the vitality of contemporary art in the Lyon area and its international profile.

Engaging diverse audiences, sharing knowledge and developing new forms of artistic collaboration will also be central to this new chapter.