Born in Nantes under the name Expolaroid in 2013, The Analog Festival has since been run from Paris following its emancipation from the Polaroid company in 2022, which also provided an opportunity to bring older alternative techniques into its field of presentation, alongside instant imagery.
Opus 14 began at LODO Gallery (Paris 7th) on February 19 with Polaroid, cyanotype, and artists’ books, and will close on July 25 at Galerie XII in Paris’s 4th arrondissement with Polaroid.
In detail, the 2026 program will go from Paris to Lyon via Le Mans, with 47 exhibitors occupying 12 venues ranging from galleries and a socio-cultural center to bookshops, a photo laboratory, and an institution. To comply with the rules of the Ministry of Culture, the festival acts as the official presenter for 10 exhibitors, the rest being represented by galleries.
After spotlighting collodion two years ago and cyanotype last year, this edition now places orotone in the spotlight, while its fundamentals remain instant imagery, with its pictorial détournements, transformations, and the accidents that make it so charming.
Demonstrations of Anthotype printing and workshops in creative Polaroid techniques will punctuate this spring under the sign of instant photography and historic alternative processes. One exhibition will also mark the launch of a monograph devoted to the winner of the Grand Prix Polaroid International in 2002 and the 1st European Polaroid Prize in the Personal Research category.
The long-standing partners accompanying the festival (the Sajin Photo agency; graphic designer Collorant Studio; publisher Obcd Visuel; graphic designer bjan; BotNation AI; and the online media outlet Polaroid Passion) retain in 2026 the support of the Nation Photo store group and of the Union des Photographes Professionnels, which hosts the festival in its gallery every other year.
Without further ado:
- The festival opened on Thursday, February 19 with an exhibition at LODO Gallery in Paris 7th (group show with Lorena Velazquez (curator), Ximena Pérez Grobet, Patricia Lagarde, and Lourdes Almeida – Polaroid, Cyanotype, artists’ books – through April 04).
- On Tuesday, March 10, the Archives Municipales de Lyon will open the “locomotive” exhibition of the 2026 edition across 340 m2 (solo show by Alain Guillemaud – Polaroid – through July 11).
- On Thursday, March 26, the Nation Photo laboratory in Lyon will open its exhibition (solo show by Raul Diaz – Polaroid – through May 02).
- On Wednesday, April 01, Librairie Thuard du Mans will open its exhibition (solo show by Natalia Rudychev – Cyanotype – through April 30).
- On Wednesday, April 01, Little Big Galerie will open its exhibition in Paris’s 18th arrondissement (solo show by Isabelle Levistre – Orotone – through April 30).
- On Thursday, April 02, the Galerie de l’Union des Photographes Professionnels will open its exhibition in Paris’s 10th arrondissement (group show with Philippe Cicchero (curator), Lucie Sassiat, Alejandra Gomez, Stéphanie Prod’Homme, Herve van de Meulebroeke, Clarisse Clozier, Anthony Tidswell, Richard Caillot, and Guy Belzane – Polaroid, Orotone, Cyanotype – through April 26).
- On Tuesday, April 07, L’Atelier Arsiloe will open its exhibition in Paris’s 19th arrondissement (solo show by Caroline Chik – Orotone – through April 17).
- On Thursday, April 09, the Centre socioculturel Archipélia will open its exhibition in Paris’s 19th arrondissement (group show with Natalia Zuluaga, Laura Stevens, and Marc Upson – Polaroid, prints from Polaroid negatives, Anthotype prints – through May 07).
- On Saturday, April 18, Galerie Le bonheur est dans l’Instant will open its exhibition in Paris’s 11th arrondissement (group show with Natalia Rudychev (curator), Sophie Caretta, Thierry Valencin, Jean-Yves Busson, Jonas Missaye, Christophe Leonardi, Nina Slavcheva, Meghibé, Marek Majewski, Eijiro Ito, Catherine Tatsopoulos, MiIjo, and Edouard Burgeat – Cyanotype, Solarized Photogram, Lumen, Gum Bichromate, Chiba system, Platinum Palladium, Polymer Gravure – through April 23).
- On Monday, May 04, L’Atelier Arsiloe will open its second exhibition in Paris’s 19th arrondissement (solo show by Caroline Chik – Orotone – through May 17).
- On Thursday, June 04, Galerie Les Temps Donnés will open its exhibition in Paris’s 20th arrondissement (group show with Claire Seppecher, Sin Art, and Jean-Michel Delage – Polaroid, Cyanotype – through June 28).
- On Thursday, June 04, Le Plac’Art Photo will open its exhibition in Paris’s 6th arrondissement (group show with Alex Moore, Araki, Cali, Charles Johnstone, Cyrus Mahboubian, Gil Rigoulet, Jean-François Bauret, Sara Sahores, and Steve Hiett, curated by Clément Kauter – Polaroid – through June 27).
- On Thursday, June 04, Galerie XII will open its exhibition in Paris’s 4th arrondissement (solo show by Sabatina Leccia – Polaroid – through July 25).
Details of this program can be found on the website theanalogfestival.com
You can follow the festival’s day-to-day activity throughout the year on social media: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088310454975 (The Analog Festival) https://www.instagram.com/the.analog.festival/
The festival opened on Thursday, February 19 and closes on Saturday, July 25, 2026, with April remaining the high point.
It comprises 12 exhibitions; 1 discovery afternoon devoted to the Anthotype technique; 4 events introducing the Polaroid process; and finally 4 workshops in creative Polaroid techniques.
This program unfolds across Lyon, Le Mans, and Paris with 47 exhibitors.
