Roubaix Photo

Over a century of images, traditions and perspectives through the collections of La Piscine.

Over the past thirty years or so, photography has enjoyed growing institutional recognition, establishing it as an art form in its own right. Once regarded as a secondary medium, associated with photojournalism, documentation or amateur photography, it has gradually found its place in public collections, exhibition programmes and the contemporary art market. The exhibition traces the history of photography in Roubaix through the collections of the Musée La Piscine, focusing as much on its social uses as on its artistic forms. From silver-based prints to digital experiments, from humanist photography to conceptual staging, from vernacular snapshots to visual art, it offers a multifaceted and sensitive overview of the medium. Through historical and contemporary works, documentary archives and artists’ series, this exhibition reveals the richness of Roubaix’s collection and the diversity of photographic perspectives it preserves — portraits of artists, scenes of working-class life, and textile heritage. Adopting a cross-disciplinary approach true to the museum’s ethos, where disciplines intersect and respond to one another, the exhibition creates a dialogue between photography and other forms of expression (painting, sculpture, graphic arts, ceramics, haute couture) and explores the cultural, social and aesthetic issues surrounding our relationship with reality and collective memory.

This exhibition serves as a prelude to the bicentenary celebrations of photography, organised by the Ministry of Culture from September 2026 to September 2027.

Curated by
Amandine Delcourt, Head of Documentation, La Piscine – André Diligent Museum of Art and Industry

The set design has been made possible thanks to the generous support of Tollens paints.

Caption: Jean-Philippe Charbonnier (1921–2004), *The Girl with the Cat*, Roubaix 1958–1959. Roubaix, La Piscine – André Diligent Museum of Art and Industry. Donated by the Friends of the Museum Society in 2024. © ADAGP, Paris, 2025.