La Grande Histoire de la Photographie - À travers un parcours chronologique, ludique et immersif, de l'Antiquité à nos jours.

Three events organized by the Bicentenary Commission of the UPP (Union des Photographes Professionnels) and the Maison Nicéphore Niépce will take place concurrently, echoing one another across time and space.

A chronological, playful, and immersive journey, La Grande Histoire de la Photographie, will trace the history of photography from its origins to the present day. This chronological journey project, proposed and led by Afsaneh Afkhami/UPP, will be carried out in collaboration with Yves Lévy/UPP.

This tour will retrace the major stages in the history of photography with photos, videos, vintage equipment (cameras, diverse photo-related objects), and archival documents.

Through immersive workshops, visitors can discover on site some of the early photographic processes (shooting, plate making, darkroom, etc.), imagine life in the nineteenth century, and gain a better understanding, in the smartphone era, of the intricate paths photography took to reach us.

The Maison Nicéphore Niépce Museum does us the honor of joining us for this journey through the history of photography, in order to present to the public, through its collections and the expertise of Pierre-Yves Mahé who founded it, the era of this incredible inventor, Nicéphore Niépce, who captured the first photograph in history.

Alongside him, we will pay special tribute to Nicéphore Niépce through the original work of Alain Eli (UPP photographer), who will display an identical image captured from his window with several vintage cameras, each displayed alongside its respective shot.

An installation, "Par le regard des photographes d'aujourd'hui", will be presented on eleven Dibond panels measuring 1m by 1.50m. It is a creation proposed and produced by Caroline Abitbol/UPP, with hanging assistance from Alain Eli/UPP. It will feature small-format works commissioned from the 1300 photographers of the UPP. Archival documents tracing the history of the UPP will also be on display. This work will thus serve as a living memory of contemporary photography's diversity. This atypical visual piece aims to invite visitors to reflect and take a fresh look through the choice of mediums, photographers' diverse viewpoints, and their grounding in today's world.

This project is organized by the Bicentenary Commission of Photography of the UPP, with the support of the Photo Section of the Salon des Artistes Français as part of Art Capital 2027 under the presidency of Bruno Madelaine at the Le Grand Palais.