L is for Look

Co-produced by the Institut pour la photographie – which also provided scientific direction and executive production – and Photo Élysée in Lausanne, the exhibition L is for Look explores a little-known editorial genre: Children’s Photobook.
Currently on display from 27 February to 7 June 2026 at the Folkwang Museum in Essen (Germany)

From the 1930s to the present day, these albums have captivated entire generations without ever really coming to the attention of the ‘big names’. Within the exhibition, designed with children (and adults!) in mind, around a hundred original books, mock-ups and interactive displays shed light on this overlooked genre…

Following an initial presentation in Lausanne and ahead of its presentation in Lille by the Institut pour la photographie, L is for Look is embarking on a European tour of five partner institutions:
↘︎ Folkwang Museum in Essen — Germany
↘︎ Les Rencontres de la Photographie in Arles — France
↘︎ The Centre national de l’audiovisuel (CNA) in Luxembourg — Luxembourg
↘︎ Foto Arsenal Wien — Austria

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↘︎ L is for Look — Exhibition catalogue
Published in collaboration with Spector Books, a catalogue available in three languages — French, English and German — accompanies the exhibition.

Retail price: €59 on site — €52 online
Format: 262 pp — W22 x L29
Content: numerous color illustrations and thread-bound hardcover
Editor: Anne Lacoste & Rose Durr

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Scientific committee

• Paul Cottin, advisor to the PoBoC association, specialized in children’s photobooks
• Rose Durr, PhD student in anthropology and the history of photography, holding a CIFRe fellowship at the Institut pour la photographie for Photography
• Florian Ebner, Head of the Photography Department at the Centre Pompidou, Paris
• Anne Lacoste, Director of the Institut pour la photographie

Executive production & scientific direction 
Institut pour la photographie

Coproduction
Institut pour la photographie & Photo Élysée