Charleroi, Europe's largest photography museum

Xavier Canonne, Charleroi's current director, is at the head of Europe’s largest museum of photography. Counting almost 2500 square meters of exhibition space, it can show three programs simultaneously with a rhythm of nine exhibitions per year. Some of these exhibitions are dedicated to the discovery of the museum’s archives. These comprise 80,000 prints and three million negatives, from the most celebrated to local photographers and even many anonymous images. How to show everything? A significant number of staff are dedicated to this. And this is in fact one of the goals of their new catalogue which states on its cover a title with a double meaning "Image(s) of a collection." Within, 300 photos give an overview of the collection and the history of its formation. But most importantly, a history of photography from 1840 to the present day.

The Museum does not stop at conserving and compiling, it also has an educational and pedagogic mission. Its rich library of more than 10,000 titles is accessible to students and researchers, as well as anyone passionate about photography.

Xavier Canonne equally includes in his programming the commissioning of photographers. After Joel Meyerowitz and Dave Anderson in 2012, it is Bernard Plossu who will photograph Charleroi. This will be the theme of a future exhibition.

Currently showing is until May 15 is a Leonard Freed retrospective.
The photograph: Leonard Freed, New York City, 1978

You can see more here: http://www.museephoto.be/