« Des aveugles. La collection photographique de l’INJA »

Two stories that begin almost at the same time

The history of photography paradoxically begins with an object in relief. In 1827, Nicéphore Niépce produced one of the very first photographic images by coating a metal plate with bitumen of Judea. Two years earlier, in 1825, Louis Braille invented the writing system that would allow blind people to access reading and writing.

As a new visual medium developed and photographic images became gradually established in society, INJA-Louis Braille also evolved alongside medical, pedagogical, technical, and social advances.

Bringing these two histories together raises essential questions: what can photography tell about those who cannot see? Why photograph blind and visually impaired people? What do images say about their era, their prejudices, but also about the changing perceptions of visual impairment?

These are among the many topics explored in the exhibition « Des aveugles. La collection photographique de l’INJA ».

From institutional photography to everyday images

Installed in the former linen room of INJA-Louis Braille, the exhibition, running from 5 to 28 November 2026, offers a thematic journey through the institution's photographic archives.

The first images displayed coincide with the rise of photographic studios under the Second Empire. Classroom photographs, portraits, and institutional scenes bear witness to an institution that became part of the history of care and education for young blind people.

The exhibition then features vernacular photographs from the 1950s and 1960s: Christmas parties, end-of-year performances, costume events, collective moments… More spontaneous and joyful pictures that reveal the gradual evolution in the representation of blind people, far beyond strictly institutional portrayals.

The journey continues into the 1980s, when author Hervé Guibert visited INJA, both to gather material for his book published a few years later and to meet students whom he helped prepare for the baccalaureate throughout a school year.

Finally, the exhibition highlights the work of Jacques Bondon, who during the 1980s photographed the daily life of blind people. His work, honored with the prestigious Prix Niépce, reveals classrooms, celebrations, caregivers, and various everyday moments. This is his first exhibition of this series since 1981. This collection is complemented by an exceptional loan from the Musée Nicéphore Niépce.

Focus on the bond connecting Hervé Guibert to INJA-Louis Braille

Hervé Guibert's connection to the Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles goes far beyond that of a writer visiting to observe. In June 1983, he published an article in Le Monde dedicated to INJA-Louis Braille. In September 1983, Guibert became a reader for two students for a school year. (One of the students was interviewed to prepare this exhibition). In parallel, he wrote the novel Des aveugles, a work of fiction published in 1985.

Through his experience as a reader, and then through his writing, Guibert did not merely depict blind people: he entered their daily lives and built a relationship with them that transformed his own perspective. His work testifies to an era when the representation of visual disability could become a literary and intimate subject.

An exhibition part of the bicentenary of photography

The exhibition is part of the 2026-2027 photography bicentenary program, supported by the Ministry of Culture, and within PhotoSaintGermain, an annual photographic rendezvous taking over Paris's Left Bank through exhibitions presented in galleries and cultural institutions.

Following a first exhibition organized at INJA-Louis Braille in 2025 with artist Sixtine de Thé, this new project marks an additional step in opening the institution and its collections to the public.

Through its archives, INJA-Louis Braille tells its own story: that of its creation, its initial establishment, and its move to Duroc, but also that of several generations of students and professionals who brought the institution to life.

By bringing historical archives into dialogue with more contemporary photography, the exhibition invites us to look beyond a purely medical or institutional view of visual disability to consider its representation in culture and society.

Practical information

« Des aveugles. La collection photographique de l’INJA » at Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles, 56 boulevard des invalides in Paris.

Free exhibition.

From 5 to 28 November 2026. Opening reception on 5 November 2026, free.

With the support of Fondation Antoine de Galbert.

About PhotoSaintGermain

PhotoSaintGermain is an annual, free festival dedicated to contemporary photography, held every November in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district of Paris.

For its 15th edition (from 5 to 28 November 2026), it offers a self-guided trail through dozens of emblematic venues – museums, galleries, bookstores, and schools – echoing the Bicentenary of photography.