The Ministry of Culture has entrusted the graphic identity of the Photography Bicentennial to Cléo Charuet, director and founder of the Cleoburo agency. This identity is designed around a founding principle: vision. It consists of a logo, a graphic charter, and the signature of the Photography Bicentennial, “200 years of photography: we bronze the gazes.”
Revealed with the graphic signature of the Bicentennial, this self-portrait of Claude Cahun and this work by SMITH offer a first glimpse of this identity.
Launched by the Ministry of Culture, the graphic consultation sparked around a hundred applications. The preselected candidates were subject to an audition before a jury composed of members of the ministry and qualified personalities.
The Cleoburo agency specializes in creating visual identities and various media, with photography at the core of its approach. “Our logotype is a gaze. Through these eyes, we invite you to observe 200 years of photography, 200 years of creativity and technicality. This gaze creates a connection with the viewer, implies complicity, humor, engages with the general public,” said Cléo Charuet.
The Photography Bicentennial, held from September 1, 2026, to September 30, 2027, driven by the Ministry of Culture, celebrates the 200 years since the invention of the medium by Nicéphore Niépce in the early 19th century. This national and international event aims to highlight the importance of photography in cultural, scientific, and social history. Through exhibitions, artistic projects, and educational activities, the goal is to both showcase ancient and contemporary photographic creations and explore the current transformations of imagery. The Photography Bicentennial invites the public to reflect on the central role of photography in how we document, understand, and interpret the world.
