Sabine Longin, general director of the Picasso-Paris National Museum, will take the helm of the Lyon Biennale (dance and contemporary art), on June 1, to develop its influence and partnerships, the Biennale announced Monday in a press release.
Since taking over the management of the Picasso Museum in March 2022 alongside its president Cécile Debray, Sabine Longin has implemented a “new economic model by proposing the creation of the Fondation Académie des Beaux-Arts Musée national Picasso-Paris , a foundation with an international dimension made up of major patrons and collectors.
By appointing her as general director, the Biennale wants to “develop its international influence and an ambitious policy of partnerships” but also open up to new audiences.
The Lyon Biennale alternately designs and produces two internationally renowned events: the Contemporary Art Biennale, which attracts more than 270,000 visitors, and the Dance Biennale, which attracts more than 215,000 festival-goers. Isabelle Bertolotti, the director of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Lyon, will be responsible for the artistic direction of the “contemporary art” Biennale and Tiago Guedes, the director of the Maison de la danse de Lyon, that of the “dance” Biennale, according to the press release. .
Sabine Longin, who began her career as artistic coordinator at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Lyon (1994-96), was notably cultural attaché, then advisor for cooperation and cultural action at the French embassy in Qatar, as well as general secretary of the Giacometti Paris Foundation. She followed the Picasso Celebration 1973-2023 in France and internationally.